Begin Again - Chronicles of an Ex-Human In Inkopolis
by N448
Summary: Lily is an odd Inkling who's learning to live in the big city of Inkopolis among other marine life. She's also ex-human, after being flung far into the future from her own time. She just wants to settle in and make the best of her new life, but the very nature of what she used to be, and the New Squidbeak Splatoon who saved her, will make it an interesting ride.
1. Gift From The Skies

Marie sighed as her new agent zoomed off to the second area in Octo Canyon, leaving her alone on the Tentakeel Hideout once again.

She seems very capable, her thoughts told her, and she agreed. Possibly even better than Agent 3, but that wasn't his fault - with Sheldon to help us out now with his weapons, and his Enhancifier, we're simply starting out on a better foot than Agent 3 had with the Captain.

Well, now that Agent 4 was safely on her way, she decided that she should make her way to her recon station, somewhere beneath the floating island. The platform had been there when she first went into hiding - once she had found the secret path that hid its existence, she found it was a safe area to set up her radio gear and 'spy' for her Agents.

But as Marie squidded her way through the ink trails left by Agent 4, something splashed deep into an ink splotch on her right. Oh kelp, she thought as she leapt out of the ink in Inkling form, brandishing her custom Splat Brella at the ink patch.

The unidentified object had sent ink flying everywhere - but otherwise she didn't see what had made the splash.

Then she saw the hand.

It was draped over the edge of the puddle, the rest of… whatever it was submerged in the ink. But it was definitely not an Inkling's hand.

Fearing enemy conflict, she slowly stepped through the ink and brought herself before the odd appendage, training the end of her Brella at it.

It didn't move. _What in the…_

She noticed that the hand was slowly slipping back into the ink. It felt as if the poor creature was… drowning? Marie frowned. _How could that be possible?_ She put the Brella down briefly, grabbed the strange hand, and pulled. _Oof, whatever it was, it was heavy_. It was definitely not an Octoling either, having now examined it closely - this was some other strange, perhaps close relative to either species.

She struggled, but slowly, she pulled the creature from the ink. Once it had been freed, she rolled the thing onto its back and examined it.

It was definitely not any kind of squid… and yet, it shared some similarities. It had hands and feet, just like Inklings; clothes, just like Inklings… but what was this stuff that sprouted from its body? It covered his legs and his arms, and parts of his face. Marie thought it looked pretty ugly. It was a lot thicker and darker on the top of the creature's head, where her own species would have its tentacles.

She looked up again, scanning the skyline, trying to judge the angle at which this thing had jumped from. But from what she could tell, there was no nearby landmass from which this thing could have launched from. _What a strange thing this is… I guess if it can't survive in the ink, I should get it somewhere out of the way before something happens to it._

And so she began the slow task of carrying the alien creature over to her hut.

* * *

Marie looked at the strange creature on her bed. She'd removed its stained clothes and put them aside for now. The creature was definitely male, she could see that much… ink had stained his skin and the hairs on his body in various places. It also seemed that he was definitely unconscious, as he still had not stirred.

Marie's abode was small - most of the room was taken up by her bed, on the opposite corner of the doorway. There was a small dresser next to the bed, containing her changes of clothes, including her Squid Sisters outfit. She… didn't feel like she deserved to wear that right now.

The remaining corner was taken up by a mostly decorational, tiny table, upon which sat a portable TV. It was switched on for now - she figured if something had struck Inkopolis, they'd get a message out pretty quickly. So far though, there was no special report yet. Marie checked a clock hanging on the wall. Quarter-past. Hmm.

The squid's gaze laid upon Agent 3's book of Sunken Scrolls, next to the TV. She picked up the book and leafed through the pages, an… odd thought forming in her head. She'd asked Agent 3 for the scrolls after the return of the Great Zapfish to the old Inkopolis Square, as the material inside shed light on the history of her people and of her country. But the sight of the book had brought the memory of one of those pages to the front of her mind…

It wasn't long before she found it - the page detailing the planet's previous majority species.

Humans.

Just looking at the diagram on the page, she could see some strong similarities between the page and the person on her bed. No way, she thought. I thought they were totally extinct. But it seemed pretty clear to her that if this wasn't a human, they were at least very closely related.

_Well, I guess I'd better keep him here out of the way, where he can't be found. Hopefully when he wakes up he can tell us how he got here… but I gotta get back to work._

Marie stepped out of the room, hung up a quick clothes line for the human's clothes, and swam away to her recon station to assist Agent 4.

* * *

45 minutes later, right on cue, Marie's radio sprung to life.

"It's Off The Hook, LIVE from Inkopolis Square with breaking news!"

"Oh, you did not, Marina…"

"There are reports of small impacts across the city! Three have been confirmed so far, including one crashing through our very own window…"

"...Smashing."

"Eyewitnesses say these came down from the sky, but it doesn't appear to be space debris - at least because what we've recovered appears to be similar to Inkopolis' own mobile phones! How weird is that?"

"Other impacts appear to have been made on rooftops with no access, so we don't know what may be lying there, but we'll update you on this story as it develops."

"That's right! And now here's the current battle stages…"

Marie switched off the radio. A phone, huh? Probably belonging to this human. She gave it some more thought, but was interrupted by her walkie talkie.

"Marie? Marie! Are you alright? I haven't heard from you for a while…"

Oops. Agent 4 had been trying to raise her for a while now, she guessed. She keyed the mic. "I'm here. After you get that Zapfish I'm going to need you to come back home, something potentially big just happened." She consulted her map and her notes. "Ah! Yes. Now, those Octozeppelins can be quite tricky to get around…"

* * *

His head was swimming. So much was going on on him, so many pain points, that he wasn't sure they weren't overlapping.

Then he realised something else. _I'm alive._

Somewhere amidst the darkness behind his eyes and the pain and the jumbled thoughts in his brain, he realised he could hear. Voices. Maybe. He couldn't quite understand them. He waited for his thoughts to calm so he could focus a little more on understanding these voices. There were two of them, and they spoke… strangely. Like it was another language. But on top of that, it was as if they were trying to talk underwater or something. It was unintelligible to him. He wondered where it was coming from…

He opened his eyes, slowly.

There were two creatures, standing above him, vaguely human but not quite.

He was also apparently naked.

He closed his eyes again. _Welp_, he thought to himself. _Wonderful. There goes my dignity._

They must have noticed, because one of them spoke to him. It seemed like he was being asked a question. He opened his eyes again to look up at them. "I'm… sorry," he spoke slowly, half in the way one speaks to someone who doesn't understand his language, but half in the sense that he was simply still waking. "I cannot understand you." He frowned.

Come to think of it, how did he end up like this? In a bed, naked, with two ladies with weird head…things over him. He tried to think back to the previous night. He could remember falling… but it was all a blur besides that.

The older, green-'haired' woman spoke again. This time she seemed to point to a picture in a book she was holding. He reached for the book and looked more closely at it. The picture seemed to be of a stylistic human drawing. The next step up from stick figures. He wasn't quite sure what they were implying, but he nodded anyway. "Yes… that looks like me," he said in a deliberate manner.

The girls spoke excitedly amongst themselves.

"This is incredible! We could learn so much about life before us!" Agent 4 said, finding it hard to keep a grin off her face.

"Yes, but I still find it hard to believe that they still exist at all," Marie replied while looking down at the human. It was unfortunate that they could not understand each other, but she was not giving up yet. She turned to Agent 4. "I think Sheldon may be able to help us out with this, too, but we'll see." The Ammo Knights owner was pretty busy with weaponry and brand deals for said weapons, but she knew that Sheldon, the short crab fellow that ran the place, had a bit of tech in the back with his shooting range that might come in handy. "I wonder if he could whip up some sort of translator…"

Marie placed a hand on the Inkling's shoulder. "We've got our own job to do right now. We'll keep an eye on the human, but we really do need to make sure that we get the Great Zapfish and Callie back. So… try not to worry about him. From the looks of things he won't be going anywhere for a while."

The two stepped back outside. "Which means I'm going to have to find a place to sleep tonight. You don't snore, do you?"

* * *

The next day was almost like any other. Agent 4 penetrated deeper into Octoling territory, with Marie only a radio call away. Marie continued to provide tactical and emotional support from her station back home. Even the city, though buzzing with news of the strange objects from the sky, was otherwise going through its regular routine.

Coming back in from Agent 4's apartment, though, Marie noticed that the human's clothes, hanging on the makeshift line, had mostly disintegrated where their ink had come in contact, to the point where they were mostly scraps. She found this odd, as from memory of their touch she figured that the clothes were made of a similar material to those made today.

Additionally, from reports on the field, it seemed that the Octoling squad that often attempted to take control of Inkopolis's sanctioned Turf War arenas had not appeared at all since the day before. Well they have to be planning something, Marie thought. It might have been almost impossible to know just what, but between radio calls she researched, and tried to work out what the enemy might do, the human far from her mind at that moment.

She only realised how much time had passed when Marie was buzzed awake at what must have been nearly midnight. "Yeah kid… I'm here," she said through a yawn.

"I've found my way to what appears to be a safe area to sleep for tonight," replied her agent through the radio. "Sounds like you beat me to it."

"Yeah… sorry about that. Been trying to anticipate what is happening with the Octoling situation, musta dozed off." Marie looked through her scribbled notes and tried to recall her thought process.

"Oh, don't worry too much about them, I can take 'em," Agent 4 replied with what must have been a cocky grin.

"That's just it though, I don't know if they're coming for you…" Marie paused upon a quick map she'd drawn of the area upon which her abode stood, which was circled. "Listen, before I turn in I'm gonna pull some strings and leave our human friend a weapon and some clothes just in case… I have a bad feeling about this."

"Are you sure about giving them a weapon?"

"No," Marie said quickly. She wasn't lying - she hadn't figured out yet whether the creature was even friendly - but if her troubles came to pass, they would need to defend themselves against a threat she didn't want to see close to home somehow. "We'll splat them if we need to, and I really hope we don't need to, but the way things are looking with our situation, I'd feel better giving them something in case of an attack on us."

"Alright… be careful, ah, Agent."

"You too, Agent 4. Goodnight." Marie blinked her eyes back into focus. She really needed the sleep. _Well, fifteen more minutes to fix him up wasn't going to hurt..._

She leapt upon the inkline that carried her from the secret recon station to the main platform of the Hideout, and from there swam through the ink trails over to the grate that would take her back to Inkopolis Square. She turned briefly, and her squid eyes scanned the hut and the sky above. It was night, but the moon was out and the stars seemed bright. On any other day she'd have thought this beautiful, but right now she was nervous. _They couldn't know about him… right?_

She turned and slipped through the grate, and was gone.

She returned ten minutes later, jumping through the grate once again and landing back on her feet. She was carrying a biodegradable paper bag upon which the Square's shopkeepers had helpfully placed some starter gear inside for cheap. Black shorts, light gray top, a headband, and a brand new Splattershot Jr, which Sheldon had jerry-rigged a small canister of ink onto the top of. She was proud of the bargaining done to get these things for cheap.

Sheldon had, of course, asked how her 'guest' was doing. His work on the translator was going alright, based on the small amount of language he'd gleaned from the phone the studio across the square had recovered, plus some recordings of the few times the human had actually spoken that Marie had gotten for him, but the translator was not ready for testing yet. She'd had to explain to him that she was busy guiding Agent 4, as he of course knew as he'd also been in communication with her, testing various products on the field. She promised that she'd let him know as soon as she returned to the tent, but that she hadn't heard any noise from him, assuming he was in a deep rest, healing up.

Marie stopped before the door into the Cabin. _What if he was awake in there, though? What kind of look would it give for her to come in with a weapon? What if he was gone?_ She calmed her mind quickly and reassured herself, that he would most likely still be asleep, and not hear her come in.

She turned the handle and stepped inside, and quickly realised there was another, altogether very strange possibility she had not accounted for.


	2. The Attack

In the early hours of the morning, he awoke to the sound of an automated alarm.

"Warning. Unauthorized intrusion detected." The alarm, coming through a tinny speaker somewhere to his left, then began making whooping noises, before repeating itself in its calm womanly voice.

He forced his eyes awake. It took him a few seconds to realise that he was in the strange room from last time he was awake. He turned his head to the left, towards the source of the sound. It was a radio. It sat on the table next to the bed, next to which was a lamp, a neatly folded pile of clothing, and a weapon of some kind. It was a pile that seemed to be intended for him.

He reached out to take hold of the weapon, swinging himself to a sitting position on the bed, and as he did so realised that his arm was hairless, free of freckles. He frowned. In fact, it really didn't look like his own hand at all. His gaze travelled up his arm and towards the shoulder, and it took for him to finally gaze down his body at his hips to realise this was NOT his body at all.

His mouth hung open. He stood quickly, ignoring the blare of the alarm for a moment as he searched frantically for a mirror. He found one in the dresser and stood before it. Thick, sky blue tentacles hung from his head, like long hair. A sort of black mask had grown in around his wider eyes. Hell, it was just plain to see that the body he had right now reminded him of one of the girls that had been in the room with him previously.

"Oh fuck me…" they said, in a voice that they didn't recognise.

The radio siren suddenly stopped, which cut off their train of thought. Their head snapped to look at the radio, and they reached over to grab the weapon from the table.

They jumped when a less calm version of the alarm's recorded voice came in over the radio. "Come in human. Come in, human." It said loudly. "There are multiple enemies headed in your direction and nobody else is nearby to help you. I'm sorry about what's happened to you, but..."

He… she… they… tuned out the voice as they examined the Splattershot Jr. It looked similar to an Uzi, but painted light gray, and orange in some parts, like it was some offbrand Nerf gun. The hastily-attached rounded container snapped onto the back of seemed to hold… some type of liquid inside, they weren't sure what. Looking over it though, it seemed very similar to the water gun comparison he had made just before.

"...may have to fight them. I'll be there as soon as I can, but-"

A bang caused them to fumble and nearly drop the weapon. They whipped around and focused on the door, weapon trained on it, trembling. _Well, make do with what you have, I guess._

It was silent, for just a moment. And then the explosion of a Blaster burst the door wide open, and on the other side was a creature, similar to the two she had already seen, but less… friendly. It was geared up in all-black, had red tentacles with suction cups along its "hair", and had its eyes obscured. It froze for just a moment, in some sort of surprise at the target's form, but that was enough time for the newly-turned Inkling to jam her finger on the trigger.

She was surprised to feel the force of the Splattershot's blast. But she was more surprised by the projectile itself. A shot of orange ink burst from the muzzle of the weapon, one after another, and pelted the other creature, quickly causing them to burst into orange ink, which covered her and most of the doorway.

She could barely register the shock of having just 'killed' something, before a shot of reddish ink zipped through the doorway and splat against the back wall of the room. _I can't stay here_, she quickly realised. _I'll be a goner for sure. But I'll have to get out there…with them._

She pressed herself against the wall next to the doorway, invisible to the attackers. Gun against her chest, she slowly attempted to lean out to see how many were out there.

She snapped her head back as more red ink loosed itself in her direction. She was pretty sure she saw three of those… things. They seemed similar to her, and yet seemed more sinister to the creatures she'd already met. Domes like suction cups grew along their red tentacles, and they all had a distinct black outfit. She didn't get a good look at their eyes, they seemed to have been covered in something black as well. So these were the things that gave you such grief, she thought to herself, directed at the lady over the radio.

She also saw that there was some kind of rock formation, like an arch, to the right of the open doorway, and open sky. She figured if she could at least make her way in that direction she'd have a better chance of survival.

And so, without much of a plan, much of a hope, she leapt from the doorway, Splattershot blazing, landed on the cold concrete ground, and ran for it past the archway. Most of the ground was covered in orange and red ink, which all seemed very dangerous to her - leaping between patches and lines and puddles, shooting aimlessly behind her. The octo-looking creatures were just cresting the hill now and headed for her. She'd gained some distance, somehow.

She had a quick idea and, aiming carefully, placed a few shots of ink on the ground, so that the way to her was covered in ink. She was standing in the open, near some odd kettle concreted into the ground, but surely they couldn't cross the ink?

The squad of three stopped before the ink. They looked at the veritable sea of ink that had been laid down over time, and then at the Inkling that was undeniably their target. The Octolings looked to each other, then nodded and aimed their weapons.

Their red ink splashed on top of the orange ink, as they made a red bridge towards her. The Inkling stepped back safety from their shots, wondering what they were up to.

And then the leader of the three smirked at her, and leapt at the ink trail, transforming into some kind of squid before her very eyes, and disappearing into the ink, her two comrades following behind her.

Oh fuck, was the only thing that went through her mind as she turned and ran, trying to find a corner to get away from them, but as they snaked after her, gaining inch after inch on her, it seemed impossible. She turned and aimed as best she could at the leader. Half her shots missed, but even those landed in the ink trail, and seemed to slow the others. But she kept firing, and saw one more Octoling burst into orange ink, showering her friends and forcing them up out of the ink, struggling to get out of the orange ink.

Huh… she thought to herself, before they opened fire.

They were definitely better than her. Several shots pelted into her chest, causing her to scream out in pain. This body really didn't like the red ink - it felt like poison was burrowing into her, and she staggered back and fell backwards onto the cold concrete floor, just inches from the edge of the platform.

One of the Octolings stepped out of the ink, and slowly stepped toward her, not stopping until it was standing right above her body, pinned by its legs on either side. Feeling like she only had one chance left, the Inkling girl snapped her weapon arm up so it was pointed right at the thing's face, and held down the trigger.

Click.

The Octoling smirked. In a low, female voice, it said, "You're coming with us now."

And then she exploded into green ink.

The girl expected to feel more pain as it spilled down on her, but oddly she just felt soaked and shocked. She looked around to see what happened.

The green-tentacled girl had arrived. She was standing a few meters away, holding an umbrella out like a weapon. She ran over and reached a hand out to the confused Inkling. "Hi. I'm Marie. Come on. The last one's trying to get away."

The squid girl climbed back on her feet, and sprinted in the direction Marie had pointed in, leaping over the ink puddles, before reaching an 'impenetrable' floor of red ink. The Octoling on the other side, preparing to jump away, turned to look at her.

It had removed the veil from its eyes. They were glasses, she realised, as they looked across the way right at her.

And then... The Octoling wolf-whistled at her.

In her confusion, she looked down at her hands, and then the rest of her.

And realised that she had been battling these things nude this whole time.

She heard a sound like a bottle rocket going off, and looked back up.

And the Octoling had launched itself away, into the sky.

"...What?"

Her gaze followed its trail into the night sky, and then just stared into the stars.

A minute passed.

The danger seemingly over, the adrenaline started to wear off and the full realisation of what had happened to her began to hit. She sank to her knees and continued to stare outward, thoughts rushing through her mind. She heard Marie walk up next to her, and didn't turn.

They both sat and looked up at the stars for what must have been a few minutes. The cold night air brushed past them, and the naked Inkling began to shiver.

"Why didn't you put those clothes on?" Marie finally asked. It occurred to the other that she understood the green squid suddenly. She attributed this to the transformation she'd undergone.

"...No time." She finally spoke, amazed at the sound of her own voice. Her older voice was a lot deeper, more… male, of course. This one was strangely more in line with the voice she imagined herself having if she were female, only younger. "I'd only gotten to pick up the… the weapon before I had to…"

She went silent. Marie understood.

"I… I didn't just murder, did I…?"

"No. They are still alive, for better or worse. They most likely ended up regrouping back home."

More silence. The Inkling turned her head to look up at her. "Why were they after me, though?"

Marie thought. "That… I don't know. When you fell, you were only out here for maybe five minutes, tops before I got you inside to safety. Unless they saw you fall out of the sky, they really shouldn't have known you were here…" There was a pause. The Inkling realised she was still working things out too.

Marie continued, "If they saw you falling, then I guess they had to have put together that you were that person somehow, and that you were still here… Hmm. And they wanted to take you away…"

Marie turned to look at her. "Whatever is going on, we won't let you get captured by them. It's… making the best of a bad situation for you, I realise... but you'll like being a part of this world. I promise."

"Now get some clothes on, you silly squid, it's like three in the morning."


	3. Her New World

"Is… this normal?"

"No, she's just weird."

Lily stood awkwardly as Agent 4 continued to walk around her, an orange-tentacled inkling to Lily's sky-blue, examining her from seemingly every angle. Marie, standing two meters away, had just introduced the two.

She was glad that she'd been given this level 1 clothing - though she'd slept in, the late morning air was still a bit chilly. The clothes fit snugly on her - though she figured that was more due to the material than her size - and they hugged her form.

Apparently defeated in trying to find a flaw in Lily's 'disguise', Agent 4 straightened up and crossed her arms, putting on some mocking voice. "So! Where'd ya come from, hooooman? Gonna take over again, hoooooman? Where'd you learn to fight a squad of Octos, hoooooooman? Eh?"

Lily stared at her. She was still working out where the relation of her world, or time, to theirs was. "Uhhhhh… Earth? No? I didn't? I was terrible?"

Marie interjected, a slight smirk on her face. "She's only still here because I don't think they expected someone to fight them without clothes."

Lily sighed and rolled her eyes. "Give me a break! If I took the extra minute to put this stuff on I wouldn't be here."

"I know, I know. I am at least glad that you held your own long enough for me to get there…" There was a slight pause, and Agent 4 settled back into her usual self. "Well, Agent 4, I figured, since you missed the action last night, would you show her around, help her settle in?

"Sounds great! Hooray, I have a new friend~!" Agent 4 said in a sing songy voice, and grabbed Lily's hand, pulling her along toward the grate which led toward the Inkopolis Square. "Come on! Race you to the square!" She jumped into the air, transformed into a squid, and slid neatly past the grate cover, and vanished into the ink below.

Lily stood above the grate, staring down after her, a frown forming. About ten seconds later, the same orange squid reappeared underneath the grate and stared up at her.

"Oh right…" She thought she heard it say.

* * *

"Come on, say it!"

"It's not THAT weird…"

"But look at all the tall buildings!"

"We had those!"

"There's screens everywhere!"

"Times Square was a thing…"

"We've got creatures with fur, though!" Agent 4 gestured wildly at Judd snoozing by the entrance to the Battle Lobby.

"Cats existed where I came from!"

"Whoooooaaa. Judd's oooold."

"I mean, I don't think I've ever seen that cat before…"

Lily and Agent 4 sat at a table off to the side of the square, eating soft-serve ice cream cones. They'd just spent some time walking around the different storefronts, Agent 4 giving her the guided tour.

_As it turned out_, Lily thought, _I guess it's really difficult to describe how to do something that's naturally inherent in your species_. It had taken a few tries, and lots of awkward explaining, but they eventually managed to get Lily into a squid form so they could both travel to Inkopolis.

Going from the quiet, floating platforms in Octo Canyon to a bustling city was a shock to Lily, but she realised pretty quickly that things hadn't changed much from the cities she'd been to. She watched the populace move by as she finished her ice cream, watching them go about their daily life. Groups of Inklings hanging out with each other. Some just slowly plodding by in front of their phones. She stared out into the crowd until Agent 4 nudged her to get her attention. "Mmm?"

"Shouldn't we go see Sheldon now?"

"Who?"

"The guy who runs the weapons shop! Mar- Our friend said you should get a checkup done, to see what was going on with you."

"Aaaaand the weapons shopkeeper can do that."

"Just going off of what I was told! Let's go!"

And just like that, Lily found herself inside a shop called "Ammo Knights". The shop was indeed dedicated to displays of different types of weaponry. She did a double take when she saw a simple metal bucket hanging off the wall. _I mean, I GUESS_, Lily screamed in her head.

According to Agent 4, they were all for handling ink in some capacity. "See, turf wars thrive with all the different strategies all these offer."

"Turf wars? Is that… common in this city?"

"All the time! It's an Inkling's most popular pastime!"

Lily blinked. "I.. guess I must be thinking of something else."

"Ahh, welcome, Agent!" A friendly male voice called from the back of the shop as a short fellow, slightly yellow all over, scurried out from behind the counter to meet them. He shook Agent 4's hand and then turned to bow to Lily. "And you must be our special guest from the past! Welcome to our humble city!"

Lily shifted about, uncomfortable. "I uh, appreciate the gesture, Sheldon, but I'm not that special anymore." Regardless, she reached out her hand to shake his.

"Pah! Always a pleasure." Sheldon's smile seemed at least genuine. "Miss Marie has kept me up to date on your situation, and if I may I'd like to perform a few tests if I could be so bold…?"

She looked at him, then at Agent 4. "I'm… assuming all this is staying confidential, right?"

"Of course," Sheldon said with another smile and a bow. "For the time being, of course. I've not seen any cases of someone being changed by ink contact before, and I'm hoping to figure out why this has happened."

He shifted his gaze toward the back door. "But also, if it would put you at ease, I have retrieved something that might belong to you."

"Well…" Lily thought briefly about it. There wasn't much she felt she could do to object, and her trust in Marie hadn't felt particularly misplaced yet, so she nodded. "Lead the way."

"Excellent! It was also recommended to me that we give you some time on the shooting range when we are finished. I assume you could help her there, Agent 4?"

"Of course."

"Splendid! Now, please follow me through the back."

Sheldon's back offices were, to put it nicely, untidy. Each room seemed like it served a wildly different purpose. The room Lily was ultimately steered into was supposedly supposed to serve a medical purpose - there was a kind of dentist's chair near the middle and various equipment around it. It was like the messy version of a TV studio's picture of a doctor's office. "Take a seat, please miss," Sheldon said, gesturing at Lily toward the chair.

As she made herself comfortable, Agent 4 sat on the medical bed behind the chair, and Sheldon sat by the chair, getting protective gear on. As he did so, he finally asked Lily to talk about herself. She had to think about this, wondering how much to tell. She chose her words carefully. "So I'm… I'm basically a big computer nerd," she began, staring up at the ceiling as she talked. "I lived for about… 26 years on…" She paused, unsure whether she was in another universe or something, or from the past. "Sorry, 26 years before I got… turned, I guess. Worked in cleaning, did some factory work. I guess most people in my life would call me a good friend, that I was there for them..."

"Good, good," Sheldon said absentmindedly. "How did you come to arrive in Octo Canyon, then? Do you remember?"

Lily could feel Agent 4 leaning closer behind her. "I… remember, but I can't make sense of it. My part of the world isn't really supposed to get earthquakes or things like that, but that's more or less what happened. This ravine opened up under my house and I just kinda got… thrown in. I thought for sure I was just dead. I guess I blacked out or something, but right before that the darkness of that ravine just sorta turned into bright light and… I guess that might have been when I 'arrived' here. But stuff like that isn't supposed to happen where I come from…"

"It doesn't happen here either," Agent 4 chimed in. "Sounds like magic."

"Don't confuse the poor girl," Sheldon admonished her. "Magic doesn't exist here either, only in fiction." He turned back to Lily, having now put on more appropriate doctor wear on top of his regular outfit and holding a small needle. "Hold still a moment, I'm taking a DNA sample. So tell me, are you… alright? I can't imagine many people would be able to cope with what you're going through, with the loss of your… identity, I guess."

"You mean I'm not a boy anymore, don't you? Ow." Lily winced as the needle carefully entered her arm.

"Well, all of it, but… start with that if you want."

"I miss it a little bit, if that's what you mean," Lily said, unimpressed. "As a whole, I've the same general body structure, so while yeah this all feels weird it's not like I'm entirely out of my element. Most of the shock feels more from the fact this world feels so much the same but at the same so different to mine, and also y'know, I was friggin' attacked last night. I'm more upset about that than losing my male identity. Actually, also kind of in shock about losing access to my phone and my friends. May as well be the same thing, was never great at making local friends."

"Interesting that you mention that." Sheldon had transferred the sample to a small test tube, and put it aside in a fridge, and was now removing the doctor gear. "Okay, Miss Lily, that's the sample done. I'll let you know the results soon. Now let's get you both out to the firing range where I have a few more things for you."

The firing range was a rented warehouse behind the buildings of the Square, mostly concreted and with railings, walkways and tracks installed for various inflatable targets. It was a place for Inklings old and new to try out the latest weapons, or just the ones they are interested in. Sheldon led the two squids to the back of his shop, which looked out into the range, in which was a map of what seemed like the main region of the country in which Inkopolis and Octopia both resided, as well as several tables full of various things. There were several areas circled on the map, some close, some far, but what they meant was not immediately apparent.

"When you appeared in our world," Sheldon began again, "you did not come through alone. Several items - by the sounds of things, some of your belongings - came through the supposed portal and scattered throughout our land. I've no idea what condition they may be in, but there are three that were found here in this city, four more within Octo Canyon, one outside of the city limits somewhere, and one more in the waters where a company called Grizzco operates, so you'll more than likely have to go with them to get close to that one."

"H-how do you know all this already?"

"I hear things here and there. I'm privy to some breaking news. These two in the city, for example," Sheldon gestured at two points on the outer edges of the city, "were discovered almost right away I believe, but they're on our skyscrapers. These particular ones, there's no roof access and they were designed so you can't ink and swim up them. It's a building code of some sort," he said. "These," he gestured at Octo Canyon, "were picked up by Marie over sonar. No idea what they are, just that they have the same sort of 'otherworldly scent'."

Lily nodded. A plan was beginning to form. It was probably a stupid plan, but it was something. "OK, so where you do you recommend I get started?"

"With this." And Sheldon handed her a mobile phone.

"Err, thanks." She glanced over it, and then made to put it in her shorts pocket, but it twigged and she gave it another look. "No fucking way…" she thought, a bit loudly.

Sheldon had just given her her iPhone.

Her eyes lit up as she held the power button to turn it on. While it booted, she looked at him and Agent 4, beaming. "My goodness, you guys! I was starting to think you were just pulling my leg! It's… entirely undamaged too, what the hell."

"Now, there's no real time limit to getting these," Sheldon said, getting her back on topic, "but be aware that especially in the Canyon, you may have enemy parties looking for or defending them, so… if you decide to go for those, maybe go for them first."

"Maybe I can help with at least scouting the Canyon locations," said Agent 4, looking closer at the map. "These two locations nearest home I must have already been to, and I can give you an idea of what you'll face later on. Same with the others but who knows, you may end up beating me there, since I'm grabbing Zapfishes as well."

"Alright, well, let's see…" Lily thought about it for a moment. "Okay, so why don't we coordinate on the Canyon ones, grab a couple out there first, and then I could… maybe grab one or both of the city ones, outskirts, then see how we are by then? I figure, the 'Octos' as you call them probably know about some of these, and probably have one or two already, so it might be worth me doing what I can to get some experience in the field before I take them on more directly…"

"Oh! Speaking of!" Sheldon said excitedly, shuffling over to a corner and retrieving what looked like some more weapons from the table and bringing them over to Lily. "The ink tank, Splat Bombs, and Ink Armor mechanism to accompany your Splattershot Jr, seeing you'll be able to use them now."

"Oh, uh… thanks," said the inkling girl awkwardly. "Is this supposed to be free, or..?"

"Well, no. See, at Ammo Knights we sell each weapon as a complete set. So every weapon you saw in the shopfront will always come with an inksplosive grenade or projectile of some kind, and what we call a 'special' weapon for Turf Wars, which is limited use but can turn the tide when used well. The sets basically cater to different play styles, so once you reach level 4 in the Turf Wars and you feel like your current set just isn't cutting it, maybe take a look at the other sets available! We always recommend sticking with the Splattershot for a while though, it's an all-rounder. These things are what come with it."

Lily nodded. So this turf war thing is more like a sport and not so much to do with actual gangs… got it. "And this canister?"

"Oh, well, that's what holds your ink! It's what makes your set work together! Quite literally, actually," he permitted himself a small chuckle. "When you go into your squid form and sit around in your ink, or your team's ink, the tank will fill up, making sure you're ready to get back into the fray in seconds. And then it comes with nozzles to connect to your weapons and projectiles, to make sure they're ready to use when you need them!"

"And… I think that's it! Oh, no, actually…" He ran off to the table again and grabbed a strange handheld device, bringing it over and placing it in Lily's free hand, with a data cable wrapped around it. "I've been working on a translator at Miss Marie's request, human to inkling and back. I'd much appreciate it if you could supply some more sample data for me."

Lily examined it. It was a yellow, oddly-shaped device, some cross between a Yak Bak and a Digivice, with a plug that matched the connector for the iPhone she was continuing to hold in the other hand. The cable was, amazingly enough, seemingly designed to plug into both devices. "We managed to collaborate with the tech company behind this building to reverse-engineer the connection for your phone, so you should be able to record your voice and import that or any other voice recordings you may have on to this device, which'll then be sent wirelessly to me. I mean, hey, if you are able to provide some of your own translations of things, that would be greatly appreciated, but there are certainly more important things at hand here…"

Lily nodded. "I at least know that I have some spoken podcasts… ah, audio shows on my phone that I can plug into it…"

Sheldon smiled. His work was done. "Well, that's basically everything I can think of. Any questions before we get you out on the firing range?"

* * *

Agent 4 and Lily spent the next few hours alone in the firing range. The first thing she taught was that it was okay to start off with poor aim. In Turf Wars, she said, the aim was simply to cover the most territory in the set time, so while splatting opponents was important to stop them from taking it back, she explained it was perfectly valid to avoid combat and quietly reclaim the territory.

She taught the newbie more about how to use her squid form, and set her some small challenges, like swimming up inked walls, or jumping between puddles of ink. Once she felt the blue-tentacled girl had become more comfortable with the form, then they finally got out the Splattershot and practiced firing, first on the inflatable dummies, then on the moving targets.

At first Lily took her shots slowly, as opposed to her previous experience holding the weapon, and Agent 4 was patient with her. She'd aim carefully - only when she was sure that she would hit her target would she briefly pull the trigger, and a single shot of ink would fire from its chamber at the dummy. She missed, most of the time, and that upset her, but every now and then she'd remember to relax, take a few breaths, and try again. As the hour went by, and she started to understand the weapon and the aiming, the time from 'concentrate' to 'fire' went down, and she seemed to be getting more confident in her shots. She was still missing, but she was at least hitting them most of the time, so Agent 4 declared it a success, so she moved her onto the moving targets.

These targets were affixed to a motorized track that moved them back and forth across a section of the warehouse. First Lily tried her single-shot method out on them. She was only hitting them a third of the time to begin with, but with a few minutes of practice her accuracy was about 50%. Then Agent 4 told her to start using it full-auto. Lily braced herself and let it loose, covering things in ink. She fired for a few seconds at a time, attempting to adjust for recoil, and watching the targets start to pop more quickly. She smiled - she was beginning to feel more ready to take on the journey ahead.

When they left it was about 2PM, and the Square was a bit quieter. "...But really, the best way to practice is to get into the Turf Wars," Agent 4 was saying as they left. "It's all above board and designed so you can't really get hurt… maybe you just hurt your pride a little."

"I'll manage," Lily smiled. "So where next?"

"Oh! I don't actually know…" said the orange-tentacled inkling, thinking. "Well, you've got your mobile back, but we should probably hook you up with something more proper if you're gonna be sticking around. I know a provider a short ways away we can get a good price on."

"That'd be cool, but, I dunno. I don't exactly have cash to get on a plan with."

"Look, don't worry about that," came the reply, Agent 4 grinning at her. "I'll cover ya today. We're only going pre-paid anyway, and I've been doing fine on the turf wars on my spare time so trust me, I can afford to do this."

Lily let her mouth hang silently. _These creatures were treating her so nicely,_ she thought. It felt like Agent 4 had brought her into the fold a lot more readily than she expected, and that surprised her. She knew though that they would have to part ways for a while for their respective missions, and it would most likely be her on her own…

"...You okay, Lil? You're tearing up." Agent 4 was staring at her, and she couldn't help but blush. "It's not that big of a deal…"

"Oh gosh, it is for /me/, though," Lily quietly said. "Phones are really expensive in my time, and I've never heard of anyone doing anything like that for me…"

"Yeah? Well, maybe they should."

"But…"

"Come on." Agent 4 took her by the hand and began dragging her along. She quickly gave up and started walking behind her, but Agent 4 never let go. She had a tight grip, but it was also… warm. And soft. She quickly pushed her thoughts to the side - this was really the wrong time to think too hard on that, she flimsily justified to herself.

After the phone store, they also went to the Shellendorf Institute Museum - it was open for visitors on the weekdays, and Agent 4 took her to the human exhibit and they talked about her world. Lily would later remember standing in front of the human skeleton recovered from fossils and being amazed at how much shorter she was now. The exhibit also displayed some technology of the time - apparently recovered from various known ruin sites. Lily also decided she would visit those sites someday.

The museum also showed plenty of the history of Inklings and other prominent species in the city, and she read everything that she could, fascinated.

It was about 4PM when they finally made their way back to the grate that would take them back to the Tentakeel Hideout. "Look, seriously, thanks for showing me around," Lily said. "It's scary being a fish out of water here, but I feel like I'm gonna be at least mostly okay if I end up living here. Thanks. It means a whole lot, what you did today."

Agent 4 blushed. "It's been an honor to introduce someone new to my world, and a real human at that. I um… I hope that you stick around. You seem pretty cool."

They both slipped through the drain and made their way back.


	4. Expedition

Lily's first expedition away from the relative safety of the Hideout was two days later. Marie had seen fit, given the scope of the work ahead, to name her Agent 5 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon. That, Marie had said to her during the final check-in before she had left, was the callsign she would use on the field and on the radios.

She'd been outfitted with a backpack to carry some camping gear, and a tracking device that was tuned to the 'otherworldly scent' Sheldon had talked about. It would click like a geiger counter whenever pointed at one of these items, which Marie and Lily had confirmed by pointing it at the scraps of her old clothes still hanging from the improvised clothesline. Her iPhone had been left back at the hideout, but she'd taken care to leave instructions on how to access it in case she didn't return.

For now, she was rocketing towards the landing point of her first destination, having just taken a launchpad. She tried her hardest not to scream out, not being great with heights or falling of this nature. She slammed hard into the friendly ink pool that marked the beginning of her adventure. "Ughhh…" She slowly picked herself up out of the ink, climbed out of it, and surveyed the area.

She'd noticed as she'd flown through the air into it, but the area was contained within this… sphere that she had slipped between the gaps of. It seemed to be made up of light panels and displays, and right now they were transmitting bright lights and vistas of some beach somewhere.

Within this space though, were several floating platforms and structures sitting atop them. In the middle of it all was a place that seemed like it held something, but from where Agent 5 was, she couldn't see anything there.

She could not see if there were any enemies around though. The immediate area on which she found herself did have a few simple wooden towers - she decided that would be a decent vantage point from which she could scout the area.

As she walked over to the base of one of the towers, though, she realised that there was no easy way to climb up. She figured that the wood looked textured enough to perhaps climb, and she wrapped her hands around the other side, put one shoe firmly against the wood, and pushed off. It wasn't too bad of an idea, and it at least got her to the next story of the tower, so she paused to take another look.

Most of the surroundings were visible now, and it seemed the area had been evacuated for something - that said, she saw one straggler up ahead, a more monster-ish kind of tentacle creature in some robot suit, doddling about behind the first climb, and a similar encounter on the other side of the sphere.

Something compelled her to try a diplomatic approach first. She jumped down from her vantage point, scrambled her way up the series of short climbs, and found herself right above the creature. Man, I probably could just splat it from up here and it'd not see it coming. Let's hope I don't have to do it.

"Excuse me!" She called down. The Octotrooper snapped around, looking around for the source of the voice. "I'm coming down to ask you something!" Agent 5 pulled her Splattershot out, aimed carefully, fired once, and put it away. Then she jumped down.

She landed carefully in the spot she had marked. Diplomatic or no, she wanted to make sure she could stand somewhere to speak to it. Both her and the creature spun to face each other. Agent 5 put her palms out quickly. I come in peace. "Please, I mean you no harm. If you'll not harm me, of course."

The tentacle paused. Its eyes were focused very narrowly on the Inkling that had intruded on its territory, or more importantly, the weapons it was carrying. Its ink cannon was trained on her, but in its confusion it waited for the intruder to make her move.

"Please," Agent 5 repeated, making up a story that should get her the information she needed, and not give up much of her own. "We uh, we've got reports of strange impacts around this state. Our intelligence suggests there may be… foreign creatures hostile to both our races landing here. Have you heard any loud bangs or thumps lately?"

The tentacle fired its weapon. Shit, she thought as she dipped into her ink, the shot whizzing past just above her. So much for that. Then she came back up, inking up a path around it, and racing along it, firing back at it in the tight space. It went down quickly, bursting in a splash of light-blue ink that covered her front. Ugh. She dipped back into the ink for a moment, scanning the area from relative safety.

This narrow passage between the two concrete cliffs didn't lead anywhere. Each end seemed to just lead to a drop to one's doom. She thought this rather strange. Partway up the cliff from which she had came, though, was glass. Curious, she inked a path up the opposite wall, and swam up it enough to look inside, finding herself looking into an office of some kind. A furnished desk faced the window, and behind it was a small mass of cubicles. Huh… she thought to herself. She reverted from her squid form for a moment to pull out the tracker, and pointed it at the window. Nothing. She put it away and swam up the wall to the top.

It took until Agent 5 was about a third of the way around the spiral of floating structure before she realised she should at least see if she could pick anything up at long range. From the peak of another structure she took out the tracker again, and slowly panned it around her in a 360-degree arc. Nothing. Grumbling, she let it hang from her hand for a moment as she considered leaving and trying a nearby area, when the tracker started going off like crazy, startling her.

She moved a short distance away, and slowly scanned the area on which she had just stood. Nothing again. What the…

It wasn't until the tracker was pointing downwards again that it started clicking again, and it started to make sense to her. Agent 5 held the tracker in both hands, aiming at the depths of the sphere. A positive reading, again.

Her heart sank. "Well how the hell am I going to get down there…?" She said, to herself.

She soon got her answer.

A blast of red ink smacked her hard in the back of the head, knocking her off balance, and she started to tip over the edge.

As Agent 5 started to fall, she tried to turn herself around to grab the ledge, catching a glimpse of what had struck her.

An Octoling.

Fuck.

She missed the ledge. Plummeting down.

In her mad attempts to grab hold of something, she managed to get her hands around a length of steel sticking out of the concrete, and slid to a halt, suspended at least a hundred meters in the air.

Agent 5 wrapped her body tightly around the metal and looked back up, shaking. She could at least see the edge from where she'd fallen. She debated in her head whether she could get up enough to at least swim up the wall.

Then the Octoling appeared at the edge, looking down at her. She was in the same outfit as the ones who had attacked her on her first night. It stared down at her through large black sunglasses, sizing her up. Then it smirked down at her.

"Well, look who it is," The Octoling said, the smirk never straying from her features. "And here I thought you were just another squid-brat snooping around where she wasn't supposed to."

She pulled her weapon out. It looked like a sniper rifle. Lily had to assume it was also ink-based, but she realised that she really was in no position to fight back. "W-who's to say I'm not?! You really think you're gonna get away with basically murder?" She yelled back up at her.

"Do you really think you'll get away with your terrorism, human?"

Agent 5 froze. How does she know who I am? Hang on a second, terrorism?! "What are you talking about, 'terrorism'?! I'm no fucking terrorist!"

The Octoling took her time aiming down the sights of her Charger, relishing the situation she found her target in. "Five days ago," she yelled back down, "you launched several attacks upon our homeland with improvised missiles, damaging several buildings and injuring personnel. We estimate the damages at about one million coins worth. Not only that," she spat at her, "but when we sent our squad to apprehend you, not only did you resist arrest, but you attacked and incapacitated most of that squad without reason, and disguised yourself as this… this inferior creature to attempt to evade detection. And even in just getting here, you splat one of our Octotroopers? What's your problem?"

She sighed. "But now we have you." The Octo finally lowered her weapon, while Lily looked about for any kind of options. "So I'm going to give you a choice. You can give yourself up and face court, or I can knock you off that beam right now and you can fall to your death. Maybe not much of a choice, but oh well, you brought that upon yourself. So what'll it-"

She cut herself off. Her eyes had moved away for just a moment, but when they went back to Agent 5, she had gone. The Octoling got down on her front and looked over the edge, but she couldn't see her at all. She cursed in her native tongue. "Stupid human," she said to herself.

For her part, Agent 5 had noticed more steel hanging from the underside of the platform, the scene looking like some surreal construction site, and had managed to leap from one to another, so that she was now obscured underneath the platform. She did not feel brave doing this. Rather, she was scared out of her mind. But she'd decided after the first attack that she would not be captured by them. She slowly swung from bar to bar, testing each one to make sure that it held.

The next one she grabbed, however, did not hold.

Its concrete support has crumbled long ago, and the added weight of an Inkling caused it to come sliding out.

Agent 5 screamed out. "No no no no no!"

Agent 5 plummeted down.

The Octoling rushed back to the edge, hearing the scream, and saw the falling Inkling.

She sighed, and pulled a length of climbing rope from her bag, preparing to come down after her.

* * *

Agent 5's body impacted hard against one of the screens at the bottom of the sphere, knocking the wind out of her right away and shattering the screen. She bounced back up into the air from the impact, landing and rolling down the incline towards the center.

The impact had knocked her unconscious.

She finally came to rest next to a black slab of tough plastic, embedded in the screen at the bottom.

* * *

She came to not too long after, very much an addled mess. As she lay there, looking up into the 'sky', she saw her again.

A long, dangling rope hanging from the platform hundreds of meters above, upon which an Octoling was slowly climbing down.

Lily groaned, forcing herself to get back up. Everything hurt. Her body screamed to just let go, but she tried to push on, grabbing the plastic slab and tugging at it til it came out. She knew it was what she'd come for. Too exhausted and in pain to put it away, she carried it with her, stumbling and limping her way up the strange landscape of screens, now lit up in pure white.

The Octoling, still some ways above, wasn't going to let her escape just like that. The thunk and clatter of a Splat Bomb behind her reminded Agent 5 of that, and she tried to pick up the pace as it exploded just out of her range.

She spotted a small gap between the screens a bit further out, a view of the outside world. Maybe if she could just get there…

She stumbled onward.

The Octoling's boots hit the ground. She could hear her sprinting up toward her. Oh no, Lily thought.

The boots stopped somewhere close. Lily turned around slowly.

A blast from the Charger knocked her off her feet again. She smacked her head against a screen. Felt it crack. Her vision blurred.

The Octoling casually walked to her, taking her sweet time. She smirked. Lily knew it was over when she'd stepped over her bruised and battered body.

Agent 5's vision focused enough to see her opponent take out what seemed like a jar and uncapping it. Just a regular old jar? "Wwwazzatfor?" She said, slurred in her disoriented state.

"Guess you wouldn't know, huh?" The Octo snorted, mounting the jar onto the Charger in place of its scope. "Both our species' has… something that seeks safe territory in which we're reborn. This is to make sure that you don't get away. You will face trial, rest assured of that."

The Octoling aimed. Its barrel was pointed right at Lily's head. Hopeless, the inkling closed her eyes and awaited it. "You'll experience some pain," The Octo said. "But not for long."

Click.

"Guh, really?" She was annoyed. Out of ink, at this critical moment? "Excuse me, this won't take a second…" She turned to her bag to extract another canister of ink.

But Lily, adrenaline flooding through her body from the hope spot, had gotten up as quickly as she could in her state, grabbed the jar from the Octo's Charger, and had pulled out the Splattershot, letting loose a quick burst.

Splat.

In the burst of ink that was her opponent, Lily did notice the shimmers of a tiny squid… spirit… thing. Before it had a chance to float away to safety, she had caught it in the jar and sealed it shut.

Phew.

She was safe.

Somehow.

Putting the jar in her backpack for now, she noticed the Octo's weapon lying on the ground.

The Charger.

She picked it up. It was an impressive weapon, alright. She decided to hold onto it for now.

The danger subsided for now, she used the last of her energy to put the slab of plastic, which she now recognised as a laptop of some kind into the backpack as well.

Then, with the knowledge that the Octo in the jar wouldn't be coming back for revenge anytime soon, she collapsed on the floor and passed out.

* * *

She felt much more alive when she awoke a few hours later. She still hurt, and still felt woozy, but most of the pain was in her head and her back where she had hit the ground.

She also noticed that the screens had gone black, engulfing the whole place in darkness. Was it "night time"? She wasn't entirely sure, but the lack of light made it really hard to navigate back to where the Octoling's rope had been, taking her about ten minutes and plenty of trips.

It took her another twenty minutes to climb up the rope, all the while thinking about the what-ifs. She was no longer in any risk of immediate danger, besides falling down again, but that didn't stop her.

Agent 5 finally made her way back to the launchpad after about fifty minutes total, fumbling her way around in the dim lighting on the platforms themselves. She sat down, putting down her backpack and retrieving two items from it: the Charger, and the jar that contained a very angry Octoling spirit.

She placed the Charger down on the ground by the Super Jump point, and the closed jar next to it.

"Look, I get it," she said to the jar. "I understand, from your perspective, why you guys want me out of the picture. Thing is, I honestly don't know how or why I'm even here, or why I became a squid girl thing. I didn't even know who Inklings, or Octolings, or whoever were until I woke up and your squad tried to get me. I didn't even know that things like… this were even possible." She gestured as the octo-spirit. "I honestly thought you guys were trying to kill me for good."

She sighed, and looked up into the blackness. "I guess I don't blame you, when essentially an alien falls from the sky." Lily was quiet for a few moments, just thinking back on that first night.

"Those things that fell down, they're mine, but they're just my belongings. I think. I don't even know what most of them are. I'm just… I'm just trying to get them back." She glanced back at her backpack, in which the laptop was poking out. In the dim light of the lights in this entry point, she could make out the reflection of her laptop's Acer logo. She noticed the Octo had followed her gaze. "Like, that's… that's just a computer. I've seen a few in Inkopolis, so I assume you guys have them too. It's… just what it is."

More silence. "There's honestly no reason why I'm not in there and you're not out here." Pause. "Maybe I will turn myself over eventually, once I've at least got my things back safely. I just… I don't know what came through with me, and I guess I want to make sure that my stuff is in my hands, because I mean… stuff like the computer, and my phone, that's basically my identity. And I guess I'd feel better if I was the one cleaning up my mess."

Sigh. She was babbling on now. She picked up the jar and stood. "I guess I just had to get that off my chest. Well, I'm going to leave now, but now that you're not a threat to my getting home, I'll let you go. I'll leave your weapon here, but it's certainly a very nice weapon. I'll have to look into getting one of my own sometime." She grasped the lid, and popped open the jar, and the spirit zoomed out of the jar and looked at her angrily before speeding off into the blackness.

"Well, seeya soon, I guess…"


	5. Begin Again

Lily spent the next few days in the Square while she recovered. Agent 4 had committed to completing her mission, and had lent her the chip card to her apartment while she was gone for the next day or two. Which meant for Lily that with Marie on full-time radio duty, she was alone.

As expected, while there was cellphone signal, Lily's iPhone was woefully outdated to handle the newer protocol. Likewise, there was no Wi-Fi for it or the laptop to connect to, so she found herself browsing through week-old (to her) chats and text messages, and listening to the music stored on the phone.

Apart from some bandaging on her tentacles from where the glass from the screens had cut into her, she looked otherwise normal, with her clothing covering up the bruised skin from her fall. The table she'd commandeered in a corner of the Square, by a closed off construction site, was littered with her things: her newly found laptop closest to her, switched on, DAW loaded; her iPhone on one side of the laptop, and the device she lovingly referred to as her inkPhone on the other.

Lily's composition was currently empty. From the music she had on her phone and her laptop, she couldn't find any songs that played well together. She was into mashups - granted, she only made them for herself, but it was something, she said to herself.

Giving up on the music for now, she closed the laptop's lid and put it in her bag, along with the iPhone.

Though not before someone across the Square, a smaller Inkling, casually glancing out the window from inside of a studio, noticed the familiar-looking phone, and wondered why some weirdo-looking inkling was holding it.

Swinging the bag onto her back, Lily grabbed her other phone and, getting ready to move off, checked a map in her messages app. Sheldon had sent a picture of the map on which they had worked out where all these mystery items were meant to be. Checking it against the phone's own map app, there seemed to be one item a few blocks away, past the construction site she was right next to.

Hmm, do I wanna go check it out? Or…

Nah, she decided. Once her cuts and bruises healed up, perhaps. She needed a plan, and wanted to look inconspicuous in case she had to do do something bad.

She remembered that both of these ones in the city were on the roofs of skyscrapers, apartment towers she figured. She had to figure that there'd be a way up to at least the top floors, where she could investigate, and maybe hope there was some roof access anyway. Surely there had to be!

The alternative, she realised, was finding some way up the wall of the building. She immediately found herself thinking back to the fall, and shuddered. She didn't want to have to go through that again.

She drove the subject from her mind. What I could use, she thought to herself, is a nice hot bath, a soft bed, and a place to be alone.

She decided, then, to make her way down to the underground train station. Consulting the phone's map, she plotted in the address Agent 4 had given her, and walked across the square and down the ramp into the station.

* * *

As she walked past the Inkopolis News studio, following her phone's directions, she missed the gaze of two curious girls sitting at a table inside.

"Are you sure it was the same one?" asked the taller, darker-skinned girl, leaning out of her chair, looking outside at the blue-tentacled Inkling with slight curiosity.

"I swear, Marina," replied the shorter one, eyes focused. "It was exactly the same shape, and it was white on the back. It was exactly the one we gave to Sheldon." Lily passed around the corner, and disappeared from view, so Pearl's eyes snapped back to her friend.

"I mean, maybe the lil guy can't work it out?"

"Apparently, because she was using it just fine!"

"Wait, really?" This got Marina's attention. Ever the techie of the two, though she couldn't read the strange characters on the phone, she had at least quickly recognised that the phone had been locked behind a password of some sort. "That's exciting! I wonder what method she used to break into it?"

"I'm pretty sure if you or Sheldon couldn't hack it, and this nobody has, it's probably theirs." Pearl crossed her arms, unamused.

"Huh." Marina thought for a moment, leaning back into her chair. "So she understands the characters on the device then. Remind me to ask her about it next time we see her."

* * *

One ride around the City Loop, ten-minute walk, and elevator ride later, Lily found the door to Agent 4's apartment. Using the key she'd been given, she let herself in quietly, and looked around.

The Inkling's apartment was similar in layout to something she might have seen back home. It reminded her of an old friend's studio flat - the door opened into a walk-through kitchen, with most of the appliances and bench space off to the side, so one could walk straight in to the main living space, which consisted of a small couch, coffee table, and TV. There was a computer desk next to the TV, and next to that was a window, an average width but spanning from floor to ceiling, that looked out into the city. It was not really a great view by any means - the window only looked out across the road to some office building - but it was one that was new to Lily.

The decor was fairly typical, and while the colors were semi-typical to what she was used to, the color she had seen in the Square and in the storefronts she had passed was represented in posters on the walls. Art of musicians, commemorative concert posters and movie posters adorned the inside wall of the apartment. She also noticed that there was a calendar amongst the posters, but she immediately looked away. If it was anything like the calendars her family would hang up back home, she didn't need to know what year it was right now. She wanted that nice hot bath, and some time to just relax.

She set her bag down next to the bed, and walked over to a door opposite the window, between the living and bedroom areas. It led to a fairly typical, tiled bathroom, with (thank goodness, Lily sighed internally) a bath long enough to lay in. She walked over and got the taps running, testing the temperature every few seconds with a finger. The liquid that came out wasn't quite right, she noticed. A sniff test revealed the slight scent of oil. She figured this had to be normal, so she shrugged it off and went back briefly to grab her iPhone.

A few minutes later, Lily was submerged in the liquid, head resting on the edge of the tub, tentacles lazily floating atop the water, bandages removed, eyes closed, and an old cached Giant Bombcast playing from her phone's podcast app. As the podcast hosts talked about the various games news of the past, she found herself transported to her old life, and the weirdness of Inkopolis faded from her mind.

Aaahh.

For just a few moments, she was back in her house, on the outskirts of an Australian country town, washing up for the next day's work. Jeff and Ben were playing up #FreeScott. She could easily imagine the low muffle of the lounge room television across the house. She wondered, briefly, if she would ever be able to hear the next Justice live album, and thought back to the first concert she'd ever gone to.

Justice's first show in her state's capital city was an experience she widely considered the highlight of 2018. To see her idols perform live and have a near-front row seat to it was one thing, but their music, and the light show their team put on, was an experience she would not forget for some time to come.

"I wonder what the concerts here are like," Lily murmured quietly to herself.

She let herself live in that world again for a while, letting the hot bath...liquid do its thing, and before too long, told herself, Alright, time to come back to reality.

She slowly opened her eyes. The memory of her old bathroom, with its many bottles, broken shelves, and mouldy ceiling, faded, and she found herself looking at the clean, well-looked-after bathroom of Agent 4's apartment.

Lily let out a sigh. She wasn't gonna miss the work, or the obligations, or things like that, but… she did miss the way things were, kinda. It was predictable. She liked that. She could plan her day around that. If she had not had an objective to keep her going, and the few friends she'd made already, she knew she'd've been much worse off by this point.

Sometime later she finally worked up the will to get out of the bath and drain it, not too long after the Bombcast had signed off and silence filled the room.

As she reached for a towel from the rack on the opposite wall, she saw herself in the mirror by the basin and stopped. She hadn't really given herself a good look over since this all began, and seeing what she had become really made it begin to sink in. This is who I am now, she thought to herself, staring at her naked reflection. This is who I've become. She did briefly admire her form, doing the occasional pose and watching the girl in the mirror do the same.

When she did manage to tear her eyes away from the stranger in the mirror and get dressed, she tossed both of her phones onto Agent 4's bed and pressed her hand into it, testing its softness. Compared to sleeping on concrete or the firm mattress in the Cuttlefish Cabin, this felt like a cloud! She leaned forward and let herself fall onto the bed, laying on top of the comforter that was draped over it.

Lily sighed happily as she stared at the ceiling. It would be interesting to see how she took to life here once she started making some money. She knew exactly what she had to do, since she had been reminded of it every day she had been in Inkopolis proper. She resolved to at least inquire about rookie matches or something to at least jump in and not feel too bad about being new.

She began to feel drowsy. This bed was almost too soft. But she could use a nap, after everything. She let her eyes close and listened to the sound of the wind and the traffic outside.

Before she knew it, she'd fallen asleep. And the squid girl slept through the afternoon, and through the evening.


	6. On Being Blue

Lily was awoken early the next morning by a pleasant ringing noise. It took her a few moments as she was jolted from her sleep to work out that it was her squidphone! Someone was ringing her!

She sat herself up on the bed as she thumbed the 'answer' button on the touch screen. "Hello?" Lily said groggily as she checked her iPhone for the time. Early 6AM. Still dark out.

"It's Four," came the hushed voice on the other end. "Sorry to wake you."

"Oh gosh! Hey! Are you doing okay out there?"

"Yeah. I mean, it's what you'd expect. Listen, I can't stay long, just in case they can pick up this transmission too."

"'Too'?"

"I… have a favour to ask." Agent 4's voice was quiet, and sad. "We um… we found out some things last night. M's real shaken up. Would you go check on her for me?"

"Uh, sure, I can do that. What…?"

"I shouldn't say, not over the phone. Let her tell you if she wants to."

"A-alright. Stay safe. Come back in one piece, alright?"

"I'll try my best, Lily. I'll see you soon." Click.

* * *

The rear train carriage was empty save for Lily as it traveled the city loop. Further up the train, she'd noticed all types of passengers get on, but she enjoyed just the noise of the train as it passed the various stations. According to her phone's map, she was a few more stops away from the Square. Lily's leg bounced impatiently next to her backpack as she waited, her eyes occasionally zipping over to the picture of all the train lines and their stations, making sure she was going the right way and all that.

The City Loop was mostly underground, though it did dip above ground for some stops, giving Lily a view of the city lights, and the brightening sky beyond them.

Whenever the train made a stop, Lily would look outside and see two or three more passengers board, and eventually one of the small jellyfish creatures entered Lily's carriage and sat off to a corner.

The train eventually announced its arrival at Inkopolis Square, and she got up and exited onto the platform. The underground station was well looked after, two relatively small platforms for the area's popularity which exited through a ramp onto the main square.

While making her way toward the exit ramp, she spotted the musician and news anchor, Marina, exiting from the other end of the train. She didn't put too much thought into this, and made her way along.

Marina did notice her though, and, remembering her curiosity about the inkling with the odd phone, kept an eye on Lily as they both made their way into the square among the group leaving the station.

They both reached the Square, quiet in the early morning, and Marina broke off her gaze to turn toward the Inkopolis News studio's back entrance. She'd unlocked and opened the door and half-stepped inside when she heard Sheldon call for "Lily!" from the other side of the Square.

She turned around, peeked out from behind the studio wall, and saw him standing out the front of his store, holding two hot drinks, and apparently waiting for the blue squid in rank 1 clothing. _Maaaan, what is going on between those two? _Marina thought, standing in the doorway.

She turned and, making a note to message Pearl about it once she got to the break room, stepped inside, shutting the door behind her.

* * *

"Sorry I took so long to get here," Lily sighed, walking up to the little crab fellow. "Still learning the train system. Enjoy your drinks."

"Actually, these are for you to take to Miss Marie," he said, handing them over. "Coffee. Flat Whites. One for her, and one for you since it's still early." He forced a smile. "I'm not a morning person, don't think too well before I've woken up y'see... But I thought this would help cheer her."

"Same here, mate. Uh, friend. Sorry. But, uh, sure… I can take these along to her."

Sheldon raised an eyebrow. "Excellent. Now hurry along! The three of us have important work to do, and a depressed squid is not fun to work with, believe me."

"Well I got bad news for you there, friend." Lily returned the grin. "I'll do what I can. Thanks."

Sheldon nodded, and waved her off. She turned to make sure she wasn't otherwise watched, and dove feet-first into the grate to Tentakeel.

* * *

The lights of Cuttlefish Cabin weren't on when Lily got there. It was dark, but the sky was beginning to brighten and a red tinge on the horizon told her the sun was not far off rising. She set one of the drinks down by her feet as she stepped up to the cabin, and used her free hand to very gently knock on the door.

There was a slight pause, then a muffled and tired "Yes…?" from behind the door.

"Agent 5. I brought drinks."

"...Yeah, okay. Come in."

Lily picked up the other coffee and pushed down the handle of the door, entering slowly. "It's only coffee, but I heard you weren't in the best way and thought maybe having someone here would help…"

Marie was laid on the bed, a bit of a mess. She looked like she hadn't slept much, if at all. Her performance outfit had been taken out of the closet in the room and was draped over the television. "That's fine," she said. "I mean, I want something more alcoholic, but coffee will do I suppose. Take a seat."

Lily placed Marie's coffee on the bedside dresser, and sat on the end of the single-sized bed as the Squid Sister forced herself up from the mattress, turning herself around so that she was also sitting on the side of the bed next to the other girl.

"Did you manage to get any sleep last night…?" Lily asked her, in a worried tone.

Marie sighed, head down. "Maybe. I think I might've blacked out once or twice overnight, but no, I don't feel like I've slept more than one or two hours."

"Jeez, that bad, huh." Lily frowned, and slowly, unsure if she should, placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "I can't say I understand what you're going through, but I do know from experience that sleepless nights only make it worse. I… know you and Agent 4 have got a big job ahead of you, so I hope the coffee will help keep you going at least…"

Marie nodded quietly. She reached for her coffee, and took a sip. Lily took her cue and also dug into her drink. _Not as sweet as she hoped_, she thought, _but coffee's coffee. So nice and warm too…_

Lily finished drinking some of the coffee, glancing over at the other squid to see that Marie was watching her. She blushed. "Do I look weird drinking? Sorry…"

"No, no. Just… It's occurred to me I still don't really know anything about you, besides what Agent 4 and Sheldon have told me." Marie thought a moment. "And I suppose, what I've seen of you when I first took you in." She let a small smirk stray onto her features.

Lily's blush was coming back in full swing. "Aw, come on. Of course you'd still remember me fighting those Octarians naked."

"I didn't even mean that, though. You were the first living human I, or anyone really, have ever seen. Yeah, it was a short-lived experience, but… hey, some of those memories still have to be in that head of yours, right?"

"...Are you asking me to remember human life for you?"

"Look, I just want a bit of time to not be thinking about Callie. Distract me."

"...Alright. Well, since the sun's just about to rise, do you wanna head outside and we'll talk?"

"Sure. That sounds nice. Just lemme get out of these pajamas. Meet you out there."

* * *

A minute or two later, Marie emerged from the Cabin, holding her coffee and dressed, for the first time in a while, in her Squid Sisters outfit. Lily, waiting by the stone archway, stared in awe. "Wow. You're looking pretty fancy there," she managed to say. "Shame about the circles under… around… you still look tired."

"Oh shush," Marie replied, but she couldn't help but smile a bit. She gestured down toward the other end of the Hideout. "There's a good spot down there past the kettle where we can watch the sunrise over the city, if you're into that."

And so, a short walk later, they sat together, feet dangling from the edge of the platform as they looked past Octo Valley towards Inkopolis. The dark blue night sky was slowly giving way to a vivid orange sunrise as they sat there, drinking their coffee.

"So?" Marie prompted between sips.

"I mean… I don't know where to start. Prompt me."

"OK then, what did your average day look like?"

"Weekday? I guess I could talk about both. I'd… wake up super early, usually it's still dark. Thankfully I have an alarm and all that, and I'd have this smart light so I can just fade it on without getting out of bed so I can wake up better without blinding myself. Then uhh… I'd eventually get up and get ready for work, pack some food, and drive about… half an hour to work?"

Marie held up her hand to stop Lily briefly. "How'd it take half an hour to drive anywhere at that time of day?"

"Was commuting from one town to another. Sure, there were big cities like Inkopolis, but I was kinda on the outskirts of a smaller community. I lived out in the country. That's still a thing, right?"

"Yeah, no, it totally is still a 'thing'. I came from the country! Still got family out there, actually."

"Oh, sweet. What kinda country is out there?"

"This is your story, not mine."

"Oh." Lily paused for a moment. "Well… I lived in this place where there were lots of farms, so there were lots of fields and trees, but I was basically on the edge of this big country city. It made for a nice relaxing drive. Wish work was like that."

"Hm? What did you do for a living?"

Lily sighed. "I had a nice cleaning job for just over a year, got a qualification for that, tried and didn't like hospitality, and ended up in a food production factory right up until everything happened. Basically packing things every day."

"Oh…" Marie frowned. "That's not what I would have thought you did. You seem… above that, in a way?"

Lily took a sip from her coffee and shook the cup. Nearly empty. "It was fine. It just made my hobbies that much more special when I wanted to do them. Y'know, I'd get home in the late afternoon, get on my computer and just… hang out online. Talk to friends. Try and do mashups. Play video games. Just sorta, whatever I felt I could do until I had to go to bed and do it all over again." She was staring down at the coffee she was holding in her lap. "I'm glad I made friends at that job. I kinda miss them. I miss all my friends... But at the same time I just really needed that extra income."

Marie nodded, with a slight smile. "Whatever helps keep you going, I get it. I gotta interrupt you again though… Mashups?"

"Oh, so the idea is, you take two or more-"

"No, I know what they are, just… really? You don't make your own things?"

Lily blushed deeply and buried her head in her lap. "I'm sorry!" She said, muffled. "I just like having fun with the music… it's my way of learning."

"Heeey, hey." Lily felt Marie's arm over her shoulder. "_You're_ supposed to be the one comforting _me_."

"I'm honestly just really bad at making my own music, so I'd play at being a DJ…"

"Look at me for a sec."

Lily lifted her head, and Marie took it in her gloved hands and turned it to face her. "As an artist, I get it. You make music how you want to. Just, maybe don't go claiming it as your own work."

"I don't."

"Good." Marie gently, carefully pulled the other squid into a sideways hug, and Lily blushed deeply, just sitting there for a moment before slowly reciprocating, hugging her friend close. After a minute, she gently let go, and rested her head on Lily's shoulder as they watched the sun peek out from behind the city.

"Uh, what are you…?" Lily said, still blushing.

"Shhhh. Just lemme have this for a few minutes."

Lily nodded quietly and let herself relax, looking out into the horizon. They let the conversation lull for a few minutes as the two sat together, Lily's arm around Marie's shoulder, and the green squid against her.

_This was nice,_ Lily thought to herself.

"Hey," Marie said quietly, a bit of her usual self starting to show again. "Speaking of music, do you have any human music on that phone of yours? I'm curious…"

"Uhh… yeah?" Lily dug out the iPhone and unlocked it. She was glad she'd gotten around to re-training the fingerprint sensor. Opening her music app, she thought aloud, "Hmm, a taste of music or a taste of my taste in music…?"

"I mean, either works," Marie said, looking up at her. "Just play me whatever."

Lily looked at her. "Well, if you say so." She dug up the live version of a song called 'Randy', one of the last things she had added to her phone from the human world. "I'll play one of my favorites, why not? This one brings me back to the first concert I attended, and while it's repetitive, it was really good at getting me pumped and in a good mood. Heh, would probably do better than that here."

She hit play, and let the sound of Justice fill the silence, nervous. As the tempo built up, it all came flooding back to her. The light show, the crowd, the heat, the excitement. She couldn't help but start bobbing her head to the beat when it kicked in, and imagine it all over again, a smile on her face. Marie could feel this energy pouring from her, and couldn't help but join her, sitting up and dancing from her seat.

After three and a half minutes of rocking out, the breakdown into the verse of the song brought some quiet, and before the vocals kicked in, Lily asked her friend quickly, "Do you want me to try to translate?"

"If you think you can."

She nodded and thought hard, trying to recall the lyrics, and with some thought, not following the rhythm, but trying to keep the pitch, translated the lyrics from English to Inkling:

"Get up and shake it off  
It's time that you listen up and hear the call  
Bail out the water  
Better not, you're on fire  
Back against the wall

Don't stop  
Try to make your mark  
And make your mind up  
Don't stop  
Work it out and try to make it

Randy  
Get yourself together  
Got to get it up to make it better  
Randy  
You don't have to suffer  
Step outside and find yourself a lover

When you know you've arrived  
And it's time, don't shoot low  
Aim it high  
When you know you've arrived  
And it's time, take it slow  
Shoot it hiiigh~"

"Impressive." Marie grinned, bobbing her head as the next part of the song kicked in. "I didn't know you sang. You were focused pretty hard for that."

"Eheh, yeah." Lily had put one of her arms out in the air, and was shaking to the beat. "I had to make sure I didn't accidentally start singing in English with the guys on this track. I reaaally wanted to do that."

"English… is that the name of the human language?"

"Er, one of. I wanna say there were probably more than a hundred languages being used on the planet when I left? English is the one I grew up with, and one of the most prominent."

"Wow. I will say though, you were right. This song would be really good at getting the squids moving. There's a certain quality to it that…"

The crackle of a radio in Marie's pocket interrupted her, and she sighed. "Ahh, she had to interrupt this eventually." She pulled it out and keyed the transmit button. "Come in?"

"Hello up there!" came the voice of Agent 4. "How are you both holding up?"

"Better, thank you," Marie said into the radio, looking over at Lily and giving her a thumbs up. "You do alright overnight?"

"Yeah I'm good," came the reply. "Found somewhere relatively safe to hole up."

Lily gestured for the radio, and got it. "When you say 'relatively'..."

"Hey, Li- Agent 5! Yeah, look down from where you are now."

Lily got up from the edge first, then, getting on her front, peeked her head over the edge of the platform.

Waaaaaaaaaaay down below them, on the watery floor of the Octo Valley, was a series of moving platforms surrounding a giant pit, with metal hatch doors recessed into the pit. It uneased Lily. "...Point taken," she said, and handed the radio back to Marie.

Marie took the radio, and keyed it again. "We'll get moving shortly. I know we've still got some things to do first, but with the help of the both of you, I think I'm ready to take this fight directly to him. Two out."

"Four out." The radio went quiet.

Lily and Marie both got up from the edge, and started to head back. "Look, thanks for coming around this morning. I hope that one day once things have settled that I'll be able to explain what's been going on." She took a moment to glance at the back of Lily's head. "At least that cut is healing well. You should be out on the field again before too long."

"Mmm." Lily stared forward. She immediately thought back to the fall. "I guess so, yeah. I'm a little nervous though. I guess I'm just gonna take the plunge and see if there's any way I can get into those Turf War sports and build up my skill without getting my ass handed to me."

Marie nodded. "Honestly that would be best. At the same time, once our work is done, we can probably help you with what's left here in the Valley… I shouldn't promise too much more though, I'm still technically holding the fort here while the Captain's out on business."

"I get it. Hell, you've done so much for me already, in you and Four just acclimating me to the world…"

They had made their way back to the Cuttlefish Cabin. Marie turned to Lily. "Well, so long as it makes our world worth living in, we'd welcome having you in it." She turned toward the door to the cabin, making to enter, but turned back around shortly after. "Oh, before I forget. The News said there may be some rain in the next day or two, so be careful."

"Will do!" Lily smiled, misunderstanding the idea of the message. "You take care, Marie. I guess contact me when everything works out. I'd love to be here to welcome Agent 4 back."

"Heh, alright. Take care, Agent 5."

Marie stepped into the cabin. Satisfied that her job was done, Lily casually binned her empty coffee cup and leaped through the grate to swim back to Inkopolis.


	7. New You

Most of the rest of that day was spent back at Agent 4's apartment, making mashups and looking through what was on television. Lily had found that there was indeed a 'sports' channel, and while trying to make a Madeon song work with a song she had found through her squid phone's internet, she'd glance over at the TV screen at the replay of some earlier match, or talk show, or league game.

From this, she learned a few things. For one, Turf War was not the only sanctioned sport enjoyed with ink-based weaponry. Though the most common, there were more competitive sports that enjoyed more coverage, at least on the channel she was watching.

The other thing she learned is that this squid song really worked with the Madeon beat. She saved the sketch and made a note to herself to work on it more some other time.

Lily took the afternoon to walk through the city. She used her phone to plot out a path past one of the nearby buildings that supposedly held another human artifact on her way back to the Square.

The rest of the city felt very different to her, and as she walked through the busy streets, surrounded by all types of vehicles and sapient marine life, she felt like an intruder in an alien world, moreso than usual.

Her nerves stayed with her until she reached her first stop. She looked up at the building the mockup Sheldon had given her had directed her to: the New Albacore Hotel.

_Whoa _, she thought to herself. _Wasn't expecting it to be THAT tall. Well, I guess it can't hurt to at least take a look… _

She stepped inside, carrying her backpack, strode past the lobby, and into an elevator on the other side. Lily closed the doors and, left to herself for a moment, set her backpack down, and pulled out the Tracker.

Lily swept the tracker slowly from ground to sky. As Sheldon had predicted, it started to click when it pointed upward. _Damn. Alright. _The tracker went back in the backpack, and she pressed the button for the topmost floor.

As the elevator whizzed upwards, she had a moment to think. She was pretty sure she noticed some scaffolding outside, perhaps if there really was no roof access she could try to climb up that...

The lift slowed to a halt, and the doors opened onto a red-carpeted corridor. Agent 5 stepped out to take a look through the corridors. Up here seemed to be some of the bigger suites, with all sorts of fancy names, like the Pacific Suite, or the Marianas Suite.

_Wait, huh? _Lily did a double-take when seeing that one. _Huh. I mean, it makes sense, considering the naming scheme of this world, but… _

She spent ten minutes walking around the floor but indeed couldn't find any civilian roof access. There _was_ a maintenance elevator that looked like it would go all the way to the roof, but it was locked behind a keycard system, and the main entry point seemed to be a floor below.

_Okay, so when I come back here, I gotta either find a keycard, go up the scaffolding, or maybe… find a way up the side? Surely there's some way to get up there. But I have an idea of the place now... I better get moving just in case someone decides I look suspicious. _

Lily returned to the elevator, went to the ground floor, and continued walking her way to the Square.

She would make it about an hour of walking later, slipping her way through the fence of the other side of the construction site that separated her from the Square, and crossing carefully and quietly. Using her squid form to slip back through on the other side, in the corner of the Square, she breathed a sigh of relief and looked back past the site at the city. Smiling, she walked over to a railing near the Shoal, some arcade, leaning on it as she looked through the squid phone's app store for something to try.

* * *

Sheldon's call came in as the orange glow of the sunset began to fade into a deep blue night. It was a very quick message, but from what Lily could make out, something was happening, possibly "it", the big thing they'd all been working towards, and both Sheldon and Marie were departing to assist Agent 4, and could Lily please watch over the Hideout.

"Of course," she'd said. Not that she had any other obligations.

So she found herself on an empty Tentakeel Hideout, at night, carrying her Splattershot Jr in both hands, ink tank strapped to her back. Octo Valley wasn't entirely silent tonight - strangely enough, there was the sound of some very muffled music far, far below her, just loud enough for the bass to be audible. Lily wondered to herself just what was going on down there…

Sheldon had left her some reading material, too - there was a short note on the bench outside of Cuttlefish Cabin, atop a couple of pages of documents. She'd had her attention drawn to them when she'd arrived, but she had decided to wait until she was at least sure that she was the only squid around.

After completing her second pass around the platform, she decided that she was not in any immediate threat and, radio nearby, sat by the Cabin bench and picked up the small note from Sheldon.

_Agent 5, _ _Received preliminary results back from DNA testing earlier today. I've left you a copy of what I received, with some annotations (laysquid explanations) where necessary. Top page is my summary. Please read when you can. _ _Sheldon _

Oh, right… Lily thought to herself. With everything that had happened, she had almost completely forgotten about why she'd become an Inkling in the first place. She looked down at the papers next to her. The top sheet was covered in the same handwriting, and glancing at the page underneath revealed printed text. _Man, should I really look at this now…?_

She looked around, almost hoping for some distraction. The radio crackled to life at that moment.

"Alright, I'm here Four. Nice work. Hold tight a moment…"

A few seconds silence.

"Holy carp! Did you mean to knock those right off?!"

"Heck yeah, Four! Keep at it, we'll win her back…"

Lily's hand reached for the transmit button, but she stopped herself. _No, maybe not while they're working… I'm gonna have to just face the facts here_. Her fingers instead twiddled the volume on the radio, turning the voices of Marie and Agent 4 down to a whisper. With a heavy sigh, she picked up the papers and read.

About a week ago now, she had fallen into their world, landed in an ink puddle, and been changed from her old human self into an Inkling like many of the inhabitants of the city. She had had a DNA sample taken from her arm, the hope being that she would one day find out why this had happened.

According to the summary, when the sample was handed over, there were supposedly still some "unknown cells" (human DNA, she guessed), which were being eaten away and converted by the Inkling ink that had been absorbed into her body. Not being native to this environment, and indeed not having existed for however long, whereas most marine species would have at most a mild or irritating reaction to the ink, her human body had experienced a violent reaction as the ink completely seeped into her and, she guessed, somehow, completely rewrote her genetic code, causing her transformation.

That was what seemed to be implied, anyway.

In reality, whichever genetic scientist (not named in the summary) saw the Inkling DNA eating away and converting the few unknown DNA cells they had been presented with, had managed to isolate a few remaining, untouched cells, and was still working to identify what it belonged to. Sheldon had stated on the page that he could not (and would not) tell where the sample had come from and that her true identity was safe. But, that said…

Whereas sometime before, she might still have been partly human, besides the memories in her head, by now she was entirely Inkling.

Lily set the paper down and stared forward at the lone tree gently swaying in the wind.

_….Man. I mean, I always kinda figured I was nowhere near human anymore. It feels… so heavy to have it be more or less confirmed. _

She got up. Walked the perimeter again, Splattershot Jr hanging loosely in her hand. _I shouldn't feel so bad about this. Why do I feel so bad about this?_

This was her routine for the next couple of hours. She tried to distract herself and deflect her emotions by focusing on her task, and ended up stewing in them instead.

It was about 9 PM when Lily gave up patrolling until she fixed herself up, curled up on the bench of Cuttlefish Cabin, in the dim lights of the Hideout and accidentally fell asleep while attempting to calm herself.

* * *

As soon as she felt conscious she looked around, confused.

Lily had come to, in the middle of a forest path. It felt familiar, but she didn't quite understand why. She got to her feet and looked around. The path was concrete, winding its way through the forest but off the path, the ground was covered in leaves and pine needles. To one side of the path, a small creek ran alongside it, the earth eroded around it from grander times, but now a small stream surrounded by reeds and tall grass.

The river and the path felt familiar to her, but not the infinite forest that otherwise stretched around her. She found herself heading off, the river to her left.

A clap of thunder interrupted her thoughts. Looking up, she saw, partially hidden by the canopy, strange swirling clouds above her. _Wait_, she wondered to herself. _Did I get here from whatever that thing is?_

Somehow she just knew that above her, was some sort of giant portal. How did she know this? This all felt rather weird and surreal. She continued on, pulling out her Splattershot and treading forth carefully.

After a few minutes of walking, and calming herself enough to find the experience of walking through the forest relaxing, she came to a fork in the path. The left path, following closer to the river, went up a gentle rise in the terrain, while the right was more covered by the trees and went around the rise.

Without thinking, she pulled her radio from her belt and spoke into it. "I've come to a fork in the path. What's the way out?"

Marie's voice came through immediately on the other end. "They both lead the same way. Don't use your ink."

"What? Where am I?"

"You tell me, human."

Lily looked around, confused. What was going on here? Hang on, was it just her or was Marie speaking perfect English? "Uhh… I don't know yet."

There was no reply from Marie.

Instead, a new voice spoke through the radio. "Unit 1 to Base. Are you catching any of this?"

Another new voice. "Affirmative, Unit 1. We count two entities of unknown origin, unknown language. Radar shows one new target under the vortex. You are cleared to engage the alien."

What?! Alien?! "Marie, what's going on? I think someone's coming to kill me." Lily spoke frantically into the radio. At the same time, she wondered why she felt that way.

But Marie, again, didn't reply. The second unknown voice came back. "Please identify yourself in English."

Wasn't she speaking English right now? "Please, I'm just a civilian. I don't know where I am. I mean no harm."

"I repeat, please identify yourself in English."

...Somehow, while she could understand them, she could not communicate with them. She replaced the radio. This was not going to work.

She decided the best option was to stay among the trees. Whoever was coming for her would hopefully have a harder time getting a clear shot at her. Gripping the Splattershot Jr tightly, and pulling the Splat Bombs from her pack to add them to her holster, she strayed from the path, making note of where she'd left off, and headed into the forest that stretched off into infinity.

* * *

It was not long before she found herself completely lost, surrounded by pine trees and oak leaves. She trod carefully, looking all around her for some hopeful escape plan, but none came.

Wandering through the trees, Lily came across a grand oak tree. Its many branches looked majestic as they reached outwards toward the sky. She stared up at it, admiring the beauty of the forest at that moment.

It was then that she started to hear movement. Something, or some things, approaching, their feet loudly stamping the leafy ground somewhere behind her. She rushed for the tree and climbed up, getting up as high as she could until she felt obscured by the leaves and branches, at least fifteen meters up. Then she waited, not daring to move or even breathe, one hand holding onto the branch to stay steady, the other holding the Splattershot as it hung loosely by her side.

Not too long after, five people rocked up, dressed in all black, military-looking gear, and carrying some sort of assault rifle. _Wait - these guys are human_, Lily realised as she silently watched them fan out around the tree. Then that means…

She thought back to the path she had travelled on not too long ago. Now she remembered - One of the towns she had lived in had a path like that behind her house which she would walk along to get to the local lagoon. But something's not right - there wasn't much of a forest there, just sort of a strip of mostly-untouched nature between houses and paddocks.

"Freeze!"

_Huh? Oh, shit. _

Looking down, taking her finger off the Splattershot, she realised that she had been found. One of the men was looking right at her, weapon pointed right at her.

"Sweet Jesus, what the fuck are you?" said another of the men as he also whipped around to face her. The other soldiers were maneuvering into position around the tree, covering every angle of any possible escape.

"Lay down your weapons and come down. Slowly." The first soldier was more measured.

"Uhh, okay…" Lily said, knowing they wouldn't understand her anyway.

Carefully, slowly, she placed the Splattershot down on the branch, trying to make sure it would not fall away from her.

She tried to do the same with the Splat Bombs, but in the process of placing it down, it did not hold, and it toppled and fell from the branch.

As she tried to grab it, one of the men opened fire.

And that's when things started to go to hell.

The burst of gunfire missed her just fine.

However, two very unfortunate bullets hit the ink tank on her back and the falling Splat Bomb.

The Ink Tank shattered, and its contents burst out in a wide radius around her.

The Splat Bomb detonated instantly, as the bullet struck it.

This sent ink everywhere.

The surprise gunfire caused her to lose her balance, and she hugged the tree tightly to avoid falling.

"No!" Lily yelled, reaching out for the now-detonated Bomb. But it was too late.

Lily's ink splattered the tree, coating whatever it touched in the light blue substance. It covered the ground around the tree as well.

The ink also landed on the men.

The five soldiers writhed and screamed as they were covered in the stuff, and Lily's eyes bulged wide. "Oh no no no no no…"

The changes began almost immediately, appendages sprouting from their heads, sending their helmets flying. Their screaming and flailing almost gave her the impression that they were burning up as the changes happened.

One of the men, partway in the middle of their transformation, their body looking freaky, half-humanoid, half-Inkling, their head bloated, managed to choke out a command: "Open Fire!"

Lily scrambled down from the tree, certain that one of them would before too long.

But they were quicker. A fourth person, in the midst of their pain, gripped their weapon long enough to unleash another burst in Lily's direction.

This one met its mark. Two bullets ripped into Lily's shoulder and chest, throwing her backwards off the tree.

_This was it,_ she knew. _She was gon-_

* * *

She hit the ground almost immediately, and her eyes snapped open. _Wait, what just…_

It took a moment for her to remember where she was, and realised what had just happened.

_Ugggghh…_ Thanks, brain, she chided at herself. _Just what I needed..._

She sat up. She'd apparently rolled off the bench, back at the Cuttlefish Cabin, and the very short drop from it to the ground had jolted her. Rubbing her head, she checked the time on her phone. She'd been out for about three hours.

_Man… _

She got up, and gripped the Splattershot Jr in her hands again, rather tightly. "Well it definitely can't have been _that_ bad," she said aloud, to the empty platform, as she looked over at the notes that were slightly scattered on the ground. _When it happened to me..._

She reached over, tidying the notes and replacing them on the bench, then took her radio. Turning up the volume to around where it was before, she noticed it had gone quiet.

_Actually, come to think about it, the Valley itself had gone rather quiet, hadn't it?_ There was no more music playing from down below. She decided to call in and make sure everyone was OK.

...Buuuuut she'd better make sure that she did another round around the Hideout first. Make sure she hadn't missed anything else.

* * *

"You seated back there, Agent 4?" Sheldon called from the driver's seat. Marie and Callie, her cousin, were putting on their seatbelts in the two passenger seats next to him.

"Yep!" Four called back from a bench in the trailer of Sheldon's hover-truck.

"Everything secured?"

"Don't worry," said Marie, loud enough so Four could hear her as well. "We made sure to chain him down before I got back in."

"Yeah, it's pretty cramped in here anyway, but he's not going anywhere." Four had her Hero Shot pointed right at the unconscious form of DJ Octavio, encased in Marie's snowglobe prison. The giant eyes of the Great Zapfish stared at her, but it didn't really seem to know what was going on. _That was probably a good thing_, Four thought to herself. Around and under Agent 4's seat was the scaffolding and equipment for the makeshift stage Marie had brought along.

"Are you sure you can fly this thing with all of us on board?" Marie glanced over at the horseshoe crab, raising an eyebrow.

"Please," Sheldon rolled his eyes as he keyed the engine and the truck roared to life. "I carry a full cargo of weapons across to Grizzco and beyond every other month. We'll be fine."

Gently, the truck lifted from the ground and stage of the Grand Octopia Amphitheatre and took off into the sky.

Sheldon's, Marie's, and Four's radios all went off at the same time. "Five, reporting in. What's your status?"

"Go on, Sheldon," Marie said, glancing over at her cousin, who was still quiet and keeping to herself. She wondered what was going on in her head…

Sheldon keyed the mic as he steered the tree out into the open air of the Octo Valley. "Hey there, Agent 5. The mission's a success. Everybody's safe, just tired. How's everything on the home front?"

"You didn't miss anything, really. Just… nightmares about home, if I had to be honest. But nothing's been disturbed, and none of the point sensors have gone off. I could hear the music from up here, honestly."

"I'd believe that," chimed in Four. "Octavio does his music way too high. My ears are still ringing."

"Who?" called in Lily.

But her question was lost. "So I'm guessing you saw what I left you, then?" Sheldon asked, piloting the vehicle past the towering tentacle pillars.

"I read your summary between patrols," Lily said with a sigh. "Didn't have much else to think about so…"

"One sec, Five," Agent 4 said suddenly, their speaking voice suddenly going more serious and professional. "He's coming to."

"Wait, already?" Marie called from the front seat. "That was fast." Keying her radio, she said, "We've got this from here, Five. Go on and head home. We'll chat over coffee tomorrow morning. I'll send Four the details."

"Alright…" said Five with some uncertainty. "If you say so. Four, your card'll be hidden under the welcome mat."

"Good to know," said Four with some relief. "It'll be good to be back in my own bed after all this."

"You guys take care. Five out."

The radio went quiet.

The hover-truck continued its ascent into the night sky.


	8. Hot Chocolate ('Fish Out Of Water' End)

Lily found consciousness after a good night's rest the next morning. Once again, it felt weird to be sleeping in an actual bed. But, man, was it appreciated. She pulled the warm, thick blanket a little tighter around herself as she waited to feel more alive.

The sound of something else shifting on the bed reminded her: Agent 4 was home. She gently turned onto her back and looked over. Sure enough, there she was, right next to her even, fast asleep. She obviously needed the rest more than she did.

Lily debated whether or not to read through her phone while she woke. That decision was made for her, as her friend stirred from the movement. She watched, somewhat shyly as Agent 4 slowly came to, shifting gently and eventually opening her eyes to see her friend. "Hey," she said softly, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "What's the time?"

Lily reached behind her for her squid phone. "About nine-thirty, apparently. You been home long?"

"Mm. Six hours sleep ain't too bad." Four yawned. "Have you been awake for very long?"

"Nah, actually. Sorry if I woke you just now turning over."

"It's fine. It's just, ya know, really nice to be sharing this bed with someone."

Lily let a slight blush cross her cheeks. "Yeah. Just… Really comforting."

Agent Four sighed happily, and leaned in to rest against her friend. This did not help the blushing situation. "I'm just... so glad to be back home." She took a breath. "And glad to have someone to share my home with."

Lily smiled, and held her close, assuming she was OK with this. "Thank you for letting me stay here for the last few nights."

"It's really not a problem. Once we get you trained up in Turf Wars and making some cash, I can help ya look for a place of your own if you like."

"You really are too kind, Fo- ...uh. Huh..." Lily realised quite suddenly that there was a bit of an issue.

"What? Lily?"

"...I only know you as Agent Four, I just realised."

"What? How...?"

"I... I don't think you ever needed to tell me your name..."

They both stared at each other for a few awkward moments, and then burst out in laughter.

"Oh, that's ridiculous. I love it." Four rubbed her eyes as she calmed down. "My real name is Lorne. It's, ah, a pleasure to meet you." She stuck out her hand, offering a handshake. Lily shook it firmly, and they both laughed some more.

"Shall we get up yet? Do we need to?"

"Nah... Let me savor this," Lorne replied. "I _earned_ this bedrest, thank you very much."

* * *

As they prepared to leave for the cafe Marie had suggested to meet at, several days later, Four tugged at the back of Lily's top. "Hey. I've been seeing you wearing that for over a week now. Off."

Lily turned to face her, arms slightly raised in a "what did you expect" kind of pose. "These are the only clothes I have. My old ones sort of… melted away or whatever. And they'd be too big for me now anyway."

"I'll lend you some older clothes today, it's fine. But that and your shorts need to get washed."

A few minutes later, Lily left the apartment in an old blue-and-white-striped polo top and some tight-fitting denim jeans. As Four locked the door, carrying a small laundry bag, the two of them caught sight of a next-door neighbour, an older-looking snail lady, entering her apartment. "Hi, Shellie," Four greeted happily. "Night shift treat you well?"

"Coulda been worse, Lorne," Shellie replied with a bit of a sigh. "Y'know how it is with vocational schools. I just hope with the rainstorm today that nobody decides to track mud in. I'll be cleaning those carpets for ages. But at least it pays alright."

The two chatted briefly, and then Shellie stepped inside, supposedly to sleep.

The two girls took the metro again, and this time ended up on a busy train, such that both girls had to stand. Lily was glad to leave when they reached their stop.

"Hey, this is it," Lorne said, nudging Lily to a halt about ten minutes of walking later in front of the Inkopolis Gardens Coffeehouse. It was located in a more suburban part of the city, the building separated from the sidewalk by a small hedge and a front patio where several tables were set. It was relatively quiet here, which was nice. Sheldon was seated at a table, waiting for them.

"Glad you could make it, Lily, Lorne," Sheldon greeted with a wave. "The others are inside. Let's get your order in first. Follow me."

After Sheldon introduced them to the barista as part of Marie's group and they both ordered, and received, their drinks, they were led behind the counter, through a hallway (Lily realised quickly that this coffeehouse was lived in) and out of a door, the two Agents found themselves in a tidy backyard.

Lily audibly gasped as she looked around. _Green. So much green._ The coffeehouse backyard was a well-kept and maintained garden, flowerbeds lining two of the sides, and a privacy hedge lining the back wall. Paving tiles from the back door to the furthest fence led to a wooden deck, upon which sat several chairs, including an outdoor couch and some small tables.

And on that couch sat Marie and her cousin, Callie. The Squid Sisters. They were both in casual clothing, and Marie was forgoing the kimono today in favour of warmer civilian clothing.

They seemed deep in discussion, but Marie lightly raised her hand, pausing whatever conversation they were having until later. Both of them turned to face Sheldon, Lorne and Lily, Marie waving and Callie with a big smile. "Hi, girls!" The latter called out to them. "Come, take a seat!"

"Thanks for waiting for them, Sheldon," Marie nodded and fist-bumped him when the three joined them on the deck, carrying their drinks.

"Sorry to interrupt," Lily started, as Callie was already getting up to shake hands with both Agents.

"Oh, don't worry." Callie beamed, and Lily wasn't sure if she was being genuine but smiled anyway. "Just catching up with my cousin. I don't believe we've met…?"

"This is Agent 5," Marie promptly introduced. "Otherwise known as Lily. We spoke with her briefly over the radio last night?"

"Oh! Yes, I vaguely remember. So you're the human, then!"

"Huh?" Marie looked confused. "I hadn't told you that yet…"

"I… I had heard things." Callie shrugged, leaving it at that for now. "So, is it true…?"

Lily looked around at the others as they all sat on the couch. Marie nodded at her, so she replied, "Kinda? I was… Long story short, I ended up here somehow about a week ago, and I got turned pretty much right away. Been living as a squid since."

"Don't worry, cous'," Marie cut in before she could get more questions in. "We can interrogate her later. We do have a bit of business to get through first."

The pink-tentacled girl nodded and sighed. "Alright…"

"Hey," Lily said, gesturing with her paper cup before taking a sip. "I'll be here as long as you need me."

Marie nodded. "Alright, well, let's recap, for Lily and Callie. Since you've both been out of the loop..." She referred to a notepad. "So, about two weeks ago now, we first discovered that the Great Zapfish had gone missing. It was about that time that I also discovered Callie had gone missing, and that DJ Octavio had broken out from his prison. We know now that these events were all connected."

"Usually," she continued conversationally to the two Agents, "and by that I mean the last time Octavio was a nuisance and pinched the Great Zapfish, we relied on our grandpa for the hiring and training. He and our previous agent have been away on business though, so with that in mind, I had to be the one to wait around the Square and hope that someone would notice and follow me. And that… took a few days."

Lorne nodded. "I remember when I first spotted you hiding your face under the Brella. It really did feel like I was the only one who could see you. I swear it was like you were a ghost."

"Yeah, it was a little demoralising," Marie agreed. "There were more than a few squids that straight-up walked right by me to get to Grizzco and didn't recognise me. But then, yeah, Agent 4 arrived on the scene. And I gave you a shot, and I am so glad we did. Seriously, Agent 4. Lorne. Thank you for everything you've done to make this happen." Marie looked down at the coffee cup in her hands. "It's not a glass, but it'll have to do. Cheers." She raised her cup, and everyone leaned in to tap their cups together, and took a moment to savour their coffee.

Sheldon, who finished his cup first while the others only gulped down a few mouthfuls, chimed in. "Meanwhile, Miss Marie and I were finalising a deal to test out some unfinished weapons on the Octarians. Of course, originally she was going to be the one to go after Octavio, since she ended up hiding in plain sight for a while."

"Right. So by the time Agent 4 had cleared out the Hideout again and made it totally safe, we'd worked that out. Checked in with her before she took off, and then…"

Marie glanced meaningfully at Lily, who was taking another short sip and sitting leaned forward, listening intently. When she finished her sip and put the cup back down, she noticed that the group was staring at her. "Oh…" she said, embarrassed. "...So that's when I entered the picture, huh?"

"And when those human artefacts fell from the sky." Marie nodded.

"Oooohhhhh. I get it now." Callie said suddenly, thinking hard. "I thought Octavio was making that up."

"Eh?" Marie turned to look at her. "Making what up?"

"OK, so, I have a real quick story from while I was under. I think it'll shed some light on things."

"Wait…" Marie was confused. "Didn't he call those things you were wearing 'hypnoglasses'? How do you remember anything from being in them?"

"I'm not sure I can explain the sensation properly," Callie said, carefully wording what she wanted to say. "But it was like… There was still a part of me that was… me, but that part was mostly trapped in my own head and more of a spectator? My body was doing and saying things, and I had no control over any of it."

"OK, that actually sounds terrifying," Lorne said, and Lily and Sheldon nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, but get this. One of those items was a pair of headphones or something? They're like yellow and black? Anyway, fell from the sky, conked him right on the head." Callie smacked her open palm against her clenched fist to emphasise the point. "When he came to he was pissed. Got his intel team to figure out where that came from. How they did it, and what they mean, I wasn't privy to, but they figured out that you had the same sort of 'signature' as those headphones and I guess decided, 'Oh they must have caused this, get them'."

"Huh." Lily was impressed. "That might not be far from the truth. See, from my perspective I was just falling down this ravine that was opening up, and then before I blacked out I'm pretty sure I just… appeared above whatsit-called, the Octo Valley."

"Oh, so, the important thing is that they were still a human male at that time," Marie mentioned to her cousin. "But yeah, they came down, landed in some of Agent 4's ink, which caused them to change over the next day or so. They were pretty much down while those changes happened. We also noticed that Octavio's strike team weren't making any moves, which was strange."

"Because they were planning an attempt at capturing her," Callie filled in. "Partly because of the perceived slight against him, but mostly now because they worked out what you were from old documents or samples or something, and figured the stuff they'd detected landing around the place would be useful, or that you'd come looking for them. Seriously, when those Octarians aren't being… creepy evil brainwashed things, they can be really friggin' smart. I think they might've been planning to get you working for them too..?"

Lily raised an eyebrow and frowned slightly. "Well, it didn't really work out well for them, thanks to Sheldon and Marie." She grinned at Marie. "And a bit of luck in clothes selection."

Marie snorted. "Or lack of. I still maintain that that threw them off quite a bit. Enough for you to get most of them, anyway."

Callie furrowed her brow. "Wait, Marie, are you implying she…?"

Marie just moved right along, but not before she shared a quick smirk with the group and pulling her phone from her pocket, loading something up on it to share with Callie. Callie covered her mouth to chuckle. Lily missed this happening as she was finishing her drink.

"Anyway," Marie continued, "Once we got her settled, things were more or less full steam ahead. Agent 4 was pushing hard. We were getting it done."

"I do remember their strike team taking another crack at Agent 5, somewhere in there," Callie pointed out.

"'Crack' would be the right word for it," Lily nodded, and Lorne leaned back to take a look at the cut on her head. It was closed up now, just scarred. "Went on my first mission, going out to get what ended up being my laptop. They ended up taking a cheap shot on me and knocking me off the stage." She leaned forward and placed her empty cup on the table. "They really had me dead to rights, the only reason I didn't end up imprisoned or in someone's dungeon or whatever is they used up their ink chasing after me, and I guess you can't really lay down ink or get ink back on those screens their domes are made out of."

"Yeah, just slides right off," Callie nodded. "You'll find that with some surfaces."

"Mmm. It was just the one Octo there, though," Agent 5 pointed out. "I imagine the other three went to take you on, Four?"

"Guess so," Lorne shrugged. "So wait, I haven't heard this story. You fell off the stage? Forget the Octolings, how are you alive?"

"I mean, I guess I probably had some adrenaline surging through me, by the time I'd actually fallen. Plus I actually /was/ really fucked up for quite a while. Vision problems, terrible pains, and the sort of stuff you might expect from getting knocked about."

"They weren't in good shape once I found them back at the Hideout, asleep and all cut up," Marie continued, remembering her regret at sending them out so soon. "So... yeah, after that Agent 5 focused more on recovery and getting used to the world, and will be going back to the field soon, but as for us, it's been more or less business as usual, compared to last time we ran the show."

"And then we got to you," Sheldon pointed out, his empty cup also on the table. The five of them had finished their drinks, and had either put their cups on the table or were cradling them in their hands or laps.

"Okay, so that's I guess the one thing that's actually fuzzy for me," Callie frowned. "There's a gap in my memory between Octavio and I fighting Four and us doing the Inkantation. How'd you get those glasses off of me?"

"Your cousin is a really good shot," Agent 5 said, recalling the moment and being visibly impressed. "Like, hitman-like levels of good."

"That was a really rough shot to take, " Marie said, looking down at the cup sitting in her lap. "For obvious reasons. I mean, it felt great when pulled it off, but there were a few moments there where I was worried I was going to splat you."

"I mean if it had to come to that…" Callie trailed off.

"Stop," Marie said firmly. "I would have never forgiven myself, not after the events that led the two of us to… this point."

"Either way," Sheldon said quickly, moving the girls right along, "you didn't miss that shot, and Callie was rescued and Octavio defeated…"

Lily was the one to interrupt now. "Marie mentioned a Great Zapfish before. Is it still being looked for? What even is it?"

"Well, Octavio stole it to power his flying… DJ booth… bomb launcher… airship... thing," Lorne explained to her. "We pretty much took that out of commission and brought the Great Zapfish back to its resting place on the Deca Tower. It supplies a not-insignificant amount of power into the Inkopolis power grid, as I understand."

"So it's like the name implies? A big electricity-giving dude?"

"Well… yes, if you want to put it like that," Sheldon continued. "It also provides us with Zapfishes, and they also provide power, just not as much."

"So then this Octavio guy's booth is just so incredibly power-inefficient that he steals a major power source just to run it? That'd be just sad if it weren't also evil. I almost wish I could take a look for myself, but as is I'd probably get my ass handed to me."

"I mean, you can go talk to him," Marie said with a chuckle. "He's not really a threat anymore, but don't expect him to be friendly."

Lily nodded. The conversation was at a lull. She sighed and leaned back on the couch, taking in the garden around her again.

"We should wrap this up soon," Sheldon said, looking up at the gray clouds swimming into view over the skyscrapers of the CBD, "or at least get inside. I think we had a few more business points to cover?"

Marie nodded, glancing up at the clouds. "Yeah. So, now everyone's caught up. Callie and I have decided that we'll be taking some time away from work and music to sorta… patch things up between us. Now, in the meantime, I do have a task for both of you, Agents 4 and 5. How's the cut, Five?"

"She looks fine," Four replied for her. "I mean, it's scarred, but it's more or less healed over."

"Great. I'd like you to take her out and get her into the Turf War scene over the next week. Five should get some more practice in combat, and get some more experience. Get her a Level 4 card. Then we ought to start giving her some assistance getting things from the Octo Valley."

"I have some ideas if you want those headphones back," Callie piped up. "But yes, some training would not go astray first."

"I did scope out some options for getting up to whatever's on top of the Albacore Hotel yesterday," Lily admitted. "I was thinking when the time's right, it should be fairly easy to get up there and collect it if I'm stealthy, as practice."

"Maybe you should get on that soon," Sheldon said. "The news said not that long ago that construction was on hold until they could get a crane in place to lift down a car that's on that roof."

"A… car?" Lily frowned.

"Yeah, there was a photo. It looks like it fell from a great height and just… splashed into… Oh." Sheldon had made a guess at where the car had come from, and from the look of Lily's disappointed face, so had she.

"...Hmm." Lily finally said. "Well, I'd like to be there to see it when they get it down. If it is mine, no matter what condition it's in, we can at least check it off the list." She thought for a moment. "I'd likely be too short to see over the steering wheel now anyway," she finished with a chuckle.

The conversation from there started to devolve and drift off-topic, so the gathering started to pack up, exchanging numbers, binning their coffee cups, making their way back into the coffeehouse and out onto the street. They all made sure to thank the baristas on duty, Lily and Lorne noting that they ought to come back some time.

* * *

After everyone had made their way back to the underground station, and were waiting for their train - the Squid Sisters and Sheldon heading to the Square, and the two Agents back to the apartment - rain had started to gently fall outside. As it increased in intensity, the 'hiss' of hundreds of raindrops hitting concrete reached their ears, and Lily turned to look back at the entrance.

"Good timing, Sheldon," Marie said. "We made it out with minutes to spare."

"Hey, uh, guys?" Callie was turned the other way, watching Lily.

The squid-girl was standing just shy of the entrance to the station and watching the rain fall and thud on the glass roof of the tunnel. Trails of water from outside were making their way down the floor of the tunnel and draining into the grate separating the ramp down to the platform from the platform itself. She sighed happily, enjoying the noise and the sights.

"You should probably get away from there, Lily," Marie called over to her. "Just in case you get hurt."

"Hurt?" Lily raised an eyebrow at her. "It's just water."

"That 'just water' is lethal to us," Callie said, hands in pockets.

"What? That's just saltwater, innit? I'm pretty sure rain is freshwater…"

Callie, Marie and Lorne stared at her. Sheldon had pulled out a notepad and was writing something, presumably about her.

"...Really? Squids can't survive in water?" Lily was stunned. With a sad look out at the tunnel, she returned to the group. "But… that doesn't make sense! Y'all used to live in the water! What's in the taps then?"

"Natural oils," Marie shrugged. "Not that crude stuff the rigs used to drill for. But that's the stuff we squids thrive on."

"...Huh…" Lily was slowly processing this. "Well, do any of you enjoy the sound of the rain, at least? Or does that just equate to danger nowadays?"

"Danger," Lorne said definitively.

"Yup," agreed Marie. Callie nodded.

"I'm somewhat lucky in that I can withstand the rain," Sheldon said to her calmly, "but I quickly learned to be concerned for my squid friends when it starts to rain."

"Fair enough. ...Wow, that's just crazy to me." Lily glanced back at the tunnel, and the noise of the rain. "Man."

The group became aware of the sound of an approaching train, and Lily went quiet. A loudspeaker somewhere above them announced it as the City Loop train, and they all boarded.

The carriage was packed. Most of the squid passengers were wearing disposable ponchos of various colors to keep the rain off of their skin. Lily, Lorne and Sheldon had not managed to find a seat, and so stood close together near the seats Marie and Callie had managed to get. Lily watched Lorne pull out her phone and open up some social network app, and they both started to talk about them and which to join. Sheldon joined in their conversation shortly after.

Marie and Callie both sat back, the former looking around at the occupied and idle faces of the passengers on the carriage, the latter checking her phone.

"E-excuse me…"

A soft, shy voice nearby floated over to the Sisters. Callie looked up from her phone, and Marie looked over at the source of the voice. It was a squid, and she looked excited to see them. "Hi there," Marie said, but trailed off.

It wasn't _quite _a squid, actually. With her tentacles tied back and dyed purple, she could be easily mistaken for one, but both Sisters had both seen enough suction cups to know that this was an Octoling. _In Inkopolis? How…?_

Callie picked up the slack while Marie was momentarily stunned. "Hi! Always a pleasure to meet a fan. What's up?" She said, immediately switching into her 'idol mode' and perking up, beaming at this unexpected guest.

The other three had heard the chatter and turned around. Agents 4 and 5 also both recognised the Octo (Lily, a little more slowly) and made to step between her and the Sisters, but Marie held an arm out to stop them. "Callie's got this," she said, just loud enough for them to hear over the noise of the train.

"I, um…" The Octoling girl was trying to overcome her nervousness, and seeing the commotion she was creating with Lily and Lorne was not helping. She made to back away. "N-nevermind, I'm sorry to int-"

Callie grabbed her hand. As calmingly as she could muster in their current environs, she said to the stranger, "It's okay. They're friends of ours. What did you want to say?" She continued grinning.

"Umm… I just wanted to say…" The girl took deep breaths. "I… saw you two at the concert in Octo Canyon two years ago. And, er, it honestly changed my life. So… I just wanted to say thank you. While I had the opportunity." A small smile stayed onto her face.

"There you go!" Still smiling, more genuinely it seemed, Callie shook the poor girl's hand. _Callie fakes this role really well,_ Lily thought. "I'm glad that we managed to inspire you with our music!"

"Yeah," Marie kicked in, having managed to flip her 'in public' switch. "And we're glad you worked up the courage to come and see us. I hope you'll come and see us perform again one day."

"A-absolutely!" The girl's smile widened. "Thank you! Sorry to bother you!" She waved and headed back to her seat down to one end of the carriage.

Encounter over, everyone returned to their posts, except for Lily, who wasn't sure what had just happened. She looked about the carriage, but nobody else seemed to have paid much attention to the Octoling girl. In fact, more people were pointing and whispering about the _Squid Sisters_, though she supposed that was somewhat normal. But still… weren't they the enemy?

Callie must have noticed Lily's unease, and she said, "It's the glasses. She doesn't have 'em. She's as good as you or I."

Lily thought on this. She didn't want to just let it go, but what Callie had said seemed consistent with the behaviour she'd seen so far. "If you say so…" After a bit of time, she returned to looking at her phone, installing the social app Lorne had shown her before.

The two agents said their farewells a few minutes later, as the train pulled into the Inkopolis Square station and the Sisters and Sheldon disembarked. Taking their seats, Lily and Lorne waved them off, then quickly returned to their previous conversation, talking about which accounts to follow.


	9. Ghosts ('Fish Out Of Water' Epilogue)

Two days later, about an hour and a half after sunrise, the front doors of the Hime Mansion opened, and Pearl, Marina, and two boys stepped inside. None of them spoke.

Their relief and elation from just a short hour ago had worn away. Both boys looked positively exhausted. As Pearl lead them through the entry hall into the massive main living space, she threw herself onto one of the long couches that lined the TV space, and rolled onto her back, staring up at the ceiling.

Marina sat on the ground just next to her, knees to her chest, curled up in a ball of sorts, just staring out into space. The Octoling of the two boys, unaccustomed to this kind of huge space, and still in his black military gear, stood awkwardly. The Inkling, still in full Agent gear, took the initiative and sat on the similar couch sitting perpendicular to Pearl and Marina's.

"It's OK, Eight," Marina said quietly, looking up at him out of the corner of her eye. "Take a seat."

The Octoling boy, 'Eight', nodded quietly and took a seat at the end of Pearl's couch. They were all silent, staring into space, and each was certain the others were thinking the exact same thought.

It wasn't, _heck yeah we just saved the world._

Instead, it was, _oh my cod, we were just a coral's hair away from death._

_We were this close to blowing it for everyone._

Marina became aware of the sound of Pearl growling to herself. She reached behind her to rest her hand in Pearl's, to attempt to comfort her, but—

"FUCKING HUMANS!" Pearl suddenly screamed out, in a half-croaky voice from ruining her voice earlier that morning, startling everyone. "Fuck! That was the most evilest shit I ever heard of! I can't believe that just fucking happened!"

"I can't believe they're _extinct_ and they're still a threat," Marina agreed, speaking softly.

"I… am not believing I nearly become smoothie," Eight said slowly, staring at his hands.

The Inkling, Agent 3 of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, was silent for a moment. His headpiece pulsed as he looked up. "I can't believe that thing was able to take control of me."

"So were humans just evil, then?!" Pearl grumbled as she sat up. "Is that what we're learning today? Is that why history nerds say there weren't any land creatures on the planet when marine life evolved?"

"…Did they murder all those, too?" Marina found herself wondering aloud. After what she'd seen today, she would not put it past them…

"…So what now?" Three asked. "Is Eight gonna be safe here on the surface, what with… things being how they are?"

"Inkopolis will accept him," Marina replied, with a small smile. "He'll just… blend right in. Going from my own experience, anyway…"

"Eight can stay the night," Pearl said quietly. "Once we get back from work. We'll get him settled." She paused. "Marina… We should… talk later."

"…yeah, okay." Marina lowered her head into her knees and let out a heavy sigh. They had not been able to talk alone about Marina's… origins since it had been brought up. Pearl _said_ it was fine, that she still appreciated and cared for her all the same, but there was still this nagging feeling in the back of her head…

Her mind briefly touched on Sheldon's work-in-progress translator, then jumped to… She looked up quickly. "Wait, I just realised something. Pearl, the phone."

"Mmh? What phone?"

"The one with the weird characters. The white rectangular thing. I swear some of the text we saw in the NILS facility on Eight's feed looked pretty similar."

"Oh, huh… so you reckon it's a NILS phone? Wait— It might be a _human's_ phone?"

"Huh? What's this about?" Three looked over, curious. He had zoned out, staring off into space briefly. "Like, one of these?" He pulled a mobile phone from his pocket. It had not been turned on for a long time.

"Yeah," Marina nodded. "I'm thinking, if we can get Sheldon or that blue-haired girl to transla—"

"She could use it just fine, remember?" Pearl reminded her. "She can read it. Call me suspicious, but considering what we've just been through…"

"…Huh." Marina was deep in thought, understanding what Pearl was getting at. If that inkling could supposedly fully understand the human language, something that no historian had managed to decode due to the lack of readable text to compare against… she _could_ be a NILS agent. "Perhaps… But we don't have much more to go off of right now."

"Then we'll keep an eye on her."

"Yeah, alright. You gonna hang around, Three?"

"Actually," Three said, adjusting his hi-vis vest, "I feel my place right now is protecting the people of the Metro. I mean I'll enjoy the city today, get some supplies, but… my work is with the Captain. At least for now. That being said… I am interested in this human business. Are you implying this girl is a human in disguise?"

Marina and Pearl looked at each other. "…I hadn't considered that, to be honest," Marina said with an eyebrow raised. "That doesn't make a whole lot of sense though… they're most definitely extinct."

"With all the stuff that's been going on lately… who knows." Pearl thought briefly. "We can keep you informed if you like. We've been using this chatroom program to communicate with Craig and Eight. If you wanna hang out there with us, we'll keep you up to date on what's going on up here…"

"Hmm. I suppose so," Three nodded. "It would be nice to keep abreast of goings-on back home."

"Sweet!"

"I'll send you the app and our channel details a bit later then," said Marina with a nod. "It'd be nice to grow that room a little, and it'd be nice to have a bit of Squidbeak insight when things happen up here." She stretched and climbed to her feet. "For now though, I hope you two don't mind, but myself and Pearl need some time to ourselves to recover, so we'll retreat to our rooms for a while. Help yourself to what's in our fridge. Eight, we'll take you on a tour around Inkopolis Square later on today, yeah? So don't go too far," she teased with a smile.

"Yeah boy, you're part of our crew now," Pearl said, throwing up her hands in her signature pose. Then she got up and, with Marina, started to make her way out of the room. "Amazing work today, Eight."

"Thanking you," the boy said quietly with a nod, as he and Three were left to themselves in the lounge to awkwardly avoid eye contact or idle chat.

Silence had returned, if briefly, as the closing of a door somewhere in the depths of the Hime Mansion reverberated through the corridors.


	10. Universal Language ('Legacy' Arc)

"You're kidding me. This is an arena?"

Lily and Lorne stood together to one side of the building while more squids gathered, talking casually with each other and equipped for the battle they were about to have.

After she had sat through a brief Turf War induction and received her ID card, Lily had been directed to a shuttle bus that drove her and Lorne to the arena they would be battling on. They and all the participants on board had been outfitted with a small earpiece that the game's referee would communicate to everyone with, and an Anchor, a device that bound her to her team's respawn point, which also changed the color of her tentacles and her ink temporarily.

But it was only after they'd been directed through a side entrance onto the field that she saw what the stage was.

"What, you've never been into MakoMart before?" called a nearby boy from the opposing team. His was a sort of greenish color; Lily and Lorne were both sporting purple today.

Lily gestured at her level 1 top and briefly adjusted the headband. "Different franchises back home," she said. But he'd already turned away to talk with someone else from his team, supposedly a friend. "So I see some attitudes haven't changed," she said under her breath.

As they walked around the stage, getting an idea of the layout, Lorne listened to her friend rant about the strange nature of the supermarket they would be battling in. The stage itself was very separate from the rest of the supermarket - elevated, varied in height compared to the rest of the store being flat, and for whatever reason, surrounded by what seemed like a six-meter-wide pit, at the bottom of which was a carpark.

Some motion on the other side of the pit caught Lily's eye, and the looked to see several jellyfish creatures queuing up at a counter recessed into the wall. She looked closely and… "Hey, there's prepared lobster in there," she realised aloud to Lorne. "Wait, is that one behind the counter a butcher?"

For whatever reason, she had forgotten to consider that not all marine creatures were herbivores. Lorne moved her along before she had time to think about this too much.

Their referee came in over the earpiece. "All of our participants have arrived and are ready, so be ready to start in three minutes. Please begin to make your way to your team's starting point."

They passed another member of the opposing team on their way back, a girl with their tentacles tied back, big studio headphones on and a jacket that Lily couldn't help but envy. The three of them shook hands. "Good luck out there," she said politely.

"You too!" Lorne smiled, and as they walked away, she smirked as an opportunity struck her. She gestured Lily toward a jellyfish child playing among the rubber balls in the toys aisle. As Lily stepped toward the barrier to look closer, she was unable to see Lorne briefly unclip and remove her Anchor, and unsheathe her Aerospray MG.

* * *

"Oh, here we go again," said one of their two teammates, a boy leaning on his Splat Roller, watching this unfold by the respawn point.

"Again?" The other boy, idly spinning his Sloshing Machine on an edge, waiting for the two girls to come back, had a look of concern.

"Yeah, I keep getting matched up with this girl," Roller said. "She likes to prank the fresh meat and claim their first splat. Watch."

As they observed, Lorne, her hair and ink orange again, stepped up behind the 'fresh meat', and without any more warning, let loose a burst of ink at point blank. Her target was downed right away.

Slosh looked on, frowning. "How does she get away with that?"

"Seems like she does it regularly enough that they have looked into it, but they haven't done anything about it." Roller shrugged. "I guess it's never really been done with malicious intent… Ah, here she comes."

The tiny floating squid spirit that was Lily whizzed past them, and Roller walked back over to the Respawn point as it plunged into the ink.

* * *

Lily felt renewed, reinvigorated in the ink as she was pulled by some unseen force into it.

She knew exactly what had just happened. And she was both shocked and a little angry.

As she swam out of the respawn point's ink pool, she was helped up by one of her teammates. His Splat Roller was leaning against a wall nearby.

"You alright?" He asked.

She immediately pulled her Splattershot Jr out. "I need revenge. One sec."

"No need!" Lorne called, Anchor reattached and arms out, approaching her. "You can't affect me, we're the same color!"

"What was that about?!" Lily yelled. "We haven't even started yet!"

"She does that to all the newbies she teams with," said the boy with the Roller.

"You gotta be ready for everything, Lily!" Lorne nudged her as the referee announced the one-minute mark, and the team of four made their way onto the Spawn point. "And I kind of have an obligation now, yeah." She rolled her eyes at Roller. "Look, just stick with me for this game and you'll be fine. We'll take the right path," she directed at the two boys, "and hopefully flank someone going for the center."

"I'll head down the center then," said the Slosher boy.

"Then I've got the left," said Roller. "Lily, right? If you ever get separated, don't be afraid to ink and fill out the areas nearby the spawn. Or follow me, and we'll wreck shop with them."

"Got it." Lily took deep breaths. She was gonna have to focus her emotions on the battle. Glancing over to her right, she saw she would be headed up an incline, after which a drop would seem to lead them into the side corridor. _Just follow Lorne, as much as you want to get back at her_, she said to herself, _and you'll be fine._

"Ten seconds," came the referee's voice in their earpieces. "Time begins at the sound of the starter pistol, and ends at the whistle."

The four of them got into position and prepared to move off, weapons at the ready.

A brief moment of silence, just the ambience of the supermarket around them.

The sound of the loud starter pistol going off in the enclosed environment nearly made Lily jump.

"Go, go, go!" Slosh called out as they all pushed off the spawn point and opened fire around them, covering the ground in their team's purple ink.

Firing along the ground as they went, Lily and Lorne took off toward the right lane, The latter dropping down off the ledge before Lily who slowed to ink more of the ground. When she came to the ledge, Lorne called up, her squid eyes peeking out at her. "Quick! Get down here and transform!"

Lily did as she was told, and Lorne, topped off on ink, re-transformed and beckoned her to follow along the aisle they found themselves in. She noted that she felt much smaller as she cautiously swam behind Lorne's steps, though she knew that was obvious.

Nobody from the other team had come down this way by the time they had reached the end of the aisle, now on the enemy side. "Okay, let's flank," Lorne called softly to her. "Weapons ready. If you see 'em, get in close and let it rip."

Lily jumped up from the ink, Splattershot Jr at the ready, firing into the corner around her. Then she joined Lorne as they both headed into the middle path, moving for the center platform.

There was one opponent unaware of their play, but another coming from the other corridor had spotted them and was firing away. Lily and Lorne jumped back in opposite directions, and the projectiles turned in Lily's direction. She got off a few shots before she dipped down into the ink, making to swim around and surprise her opponent, and as she did so, Lorne focused her fire, and together their adversary didn't stand a chance. They burst into purple ink, and a tiny squid spirit flew off out of the inksplosion, towards their spawn.

Lily came up from the ink, and looked over at the middle. Two more squids from the other team were engaged in a battle, presumedly with her teammates. She regrouped with Lorne and they both moved to engage.

At least, Lorne did. With Roller and Slosh on the other side of the green team, the two didn't stand a chance.

But the fourth green opponent, the girl she had passed by before the battle, leapt out from cover towards Lily, holding her Roller like a sword of some kind. She had a moment to wonder what to do, before the enemy Roller came down, flinging a line of ink down on the ground, Lily caught in its path.

_Splat._

The second time was not as surprising and shocking as the first, Lily found. As she felt herself pulled in the direction of their respawn point, she had a brief thought: _Better get ready for more of that…_

She was reborn in the ink, and she leapt out and back into the fray, headed for the central platform of the Makomart arena.

* * *

The battle went about as well for Lily as she expected. She was taken out annoying often; meanwhile, she'd only managed a single splat of her own. So she quickly refocused on filling out the quieter parts of the arena.

They'd eked out her first victory, barely. When they had been led off the field afterward, Lily and Lorne stood off to one side of a corridor while their teammates, whom she had nicknamed Roller and Slosh for their choice of weaponry, stood and chatted nearby.

"...Certainly a better first experience compared to playing my first game of paintball," Lily was saying to Lorne, recounting that experience as well. She was not a great shot then, either - and she was unlucky enough to be hit in the head a few times with paintball pellets, despite rules and wearing masks, which she admitted may have influenced her opinion.

"You did pretty well for your first game," Roller called, walking over to join their conversation. "I mean, as always there's things to improve on, from what I saw, but…"

"There always is," Lily nodded. "All considered, I think I did fine." She noticed out of the corner of her eye that Lorne had picked up her phone and was in the middle of her own conversation. "It'd be nice to be a pro player out of the gate, but let's be realistic..."

"Just comes down to practice," Roller said. "You'll get it down in time. I'm surprised you never played before though. What's up with that?"

"Oh, well…" Lily bit her lip. "Turf War wasn't much of a thing when I lived out in the country, and even then I was more into music and video games and stuff," she replied after a bit of thought, lying by omission.

"Ahh, no scene out there? Fair enough. Inkopolis is full of it, so you better get used to it!"

"Yo Lily," called Lorne as she slipped the phone away. "We gotta head out if you wanna see them take the car off the Albacore roof."

"Albacore? The hotel?" Roller asked them. "They were turning the roof into a new arena, aren't they?"

"That's the one," Lorne nodded. "They finally sourced some equipment to safely bring that thing down. Apparently it's heavy, like several tons."

The inkling boy whistled. "I kinda wanna come and see it. Mind if I join you girls?"

Lily made a slight frown and looked over to Lorne. "Uhhh… Anybody meeting us there?"

"Just our boy S. The others are busy." Lorne cocked her head at her.

Lily thought for a moment. "Alright, well, if you want to come with, I would be okay with it. Lorne?"

"Yeah, okay," Lorne said, and put on a smile. "Shall we go check out, then?"


	11. Hooked

Marina was a little surprised to see the small crowd gathered around the concrete barriers that marked the planned drop point for the vehicle, as she was being miked up and made-up for her camera segment on the event. True, the news team had been tracking this, and news over the past month, even as she and Pearl took the occasional day off for their careers, or, in the most recent instance…

She glanced over at Pearl, who was making small talk with Sheldon, part of the crowd. Somewhere in the mass of people, she knew their newest friend was hanging about somewhere. Hoping he was coping alright, she let her mind drift back to the task at hand.

"Alright, Marina, you're ready to go," said the crew's make-up artist, putting away their kit.

"Thanks," Marina nodded and smiled, and got to her feet. "How long until it lands?" She addressed the crew around her. "We ought to time it so we can get in up close before we sign off here."

A shorter inkling boy in a "Staff Technician" shirt had the answer. "Talked to construction a few minutes ago. They reckon about three minutes from now?"

The Octoling did the math. "So let's say it takes about a minute and a half to run through the prepared part of our script. Why don't we roll in about two minutes, and hopefully once we're done with that they should be ready for us to move in and take a closer look."

As Marina and the Inkopolis News field crew finalised the last few details, Lily, Lorne, and Roller were arriving at the scene, having caught a tram from a stop nearby the MakoMart.

"This is more of a crowd than I was expecting," Lily said, scratching at the back of her head.

"But still pretty small," Lorne nudged her. "Should be relatively easy to find him. Come on, you two."

They took a walk around the crowd to see if they could spot their friend. Eventually it was Roller who called, "Oh hey, is that Sheldon and Pearl over there?"

Lorne looked in the direction of his pointing finger and indeed saw him, the trio having walked around to near the front and seeing the two chatting between a barrier. "Yes! Nice work." The girls started walking over to him, Roller following sheepishly.

"Hey, we made it!" Lily called over to Sheldon as they gently made their way through the crowd to him, causing him to turn in their direction. Pearl had also glanced over at them and struck a pose, but looked rather unimpressed when she saw Lily.

"Ah, hello girls!" Sheldon nodded respectfully. "I see you've brought along a friend?"

"Yeah," Lorne nodded, gesturing to Roller. "We just got off of Lily's first Turf War game, and one of our teammates wanted to come take a look too."

"I see! Well, welcome to the fun!" Sheldon smiled over at Roller, turning back towards the suspended car. "As Miss Pearl tells me, they should be allowing the public to get in closer once it's all been signed off by the construction crew and news team."

"Told ya not to call me that, Sheldon," Pearl butted in, from the other side of the barrier. "It's just 'Pearl', none of this 'Miss' crap." She almost seemed to forget about responding to the rest of the comment, and quickly jumped in again, "but yeah, once they get done with it they'll open it up to the people."

"Oh, cool," Lily said absent-mindedly. She was also looking over at the car now and, though it was still a bit above them, about three stories up, she'd caught sight of the licence plate as the car rotated around. It was definitely her car._ Wow, what a sight_, she thought to herself.

The four of them hung out and chatted about their recent battle while the crews went about their business. Pearl, letting herself be excluded from the conversation for a bit, turned to watch her partner in crime at work. She knew Marina didn't handle too well in front of a crowd, when she wasn't performing, but she was just killing it at the moment.

The car's tires finally touched the ground and a trades-squid leapt up onto the vehicle to disconnect the harness holding it to the crane's hook, and as soon as it was free, they waved the news crew over and another tradesperson, wearing a hi-vis vest, pressed a set of keys into Marina's open palm.

Now that it was down on the ground and in front of them, she was surprised to see that even Marina wasn't taller than the roof of the vehicle, as they unlocked and opened the right-hand driver's side door. The Octoling idol gestured the camera crew closer as she climbed into the seat, pointing at and talking about the archaic driving technology inside.

Lily, gathered behind the fence with the others, bit her lip and tried not to let it get to her that these people were poking around her Ford. She also really wanted to talk about the car to Lorne and Sheldon, but knew she should keep her mouth shut for the moment... So she waited and listened as the news crew did their thing, as the tradespeople worked around them making the area safe for the general public.

Finally, though, Marina had signed off on her segment and, as the rest of the crew pulled back to their truck on the opposite end of the Hotel's entrance, the vehicle was deemed safe for public inspection.

"Alright! Well, shall we go take a closer look, folks?" Sheldon gestured as the barrier between them and the car was removed. Lily excitedly nodded and Lorne and Roller followed behind them. Pearl, waving them off, jogged over to Marina to speak privately as soon as they were past.

"Oh man, I missed Greenie," Lily finally said once they grouped up by the bonnet of the car. "I forgot that I'm smaller now though, this thing is huge."

Lorne coughed, and cocked her head over in Roller's direction. Oh right, Lily realised. "…compared to our cars," she hastily added.

Roller, however was looking through the driver's side window. "This car has seen better days," he commented on the torn fabric of the seats.

"Yeah really," came Marina's voice from behind the group. She and Pearl had walked over to them. "It's old, sure, but it hasn't been looked after very well."

Lily tried not to look too annoyed at the comment, but Pearl noticed her trying to keep her face straight and smirked. "Yo, newbie," she said with a devilish grin. "We've seen you around a bit lately. Why only Turf War now?"

Lily shrugged. "Wasn't a priority. I wanted to try to make ends meet in other ways first."

"Hey," Sheldon called from the front absent-mindedly. He was glancing at the licence plate. "What's this say?"

Lily replied back automatically, "Oh it's just like, letters and numbers and then underneath it says 'Victoria the something state'. 'Education' I think? I forget if…"

Lorne nudged Lily hard in the side to shut her up, and Off the Hook exchanged looks as Lily looked over at her friend.

"Rrreeaaally?" Pearl finally said, looking a little scary real suddenly, while Marina looked more concerned, brows furrowed as she watched Lily intently. "How fascinating. And just how do you know that?"

"Huh?" Lily was confused for a brief moment, before realising she had just translated the text for them. Or rather, she'd remembered what it had said. "Oh, I studied exotic languages back in university. That… script belongs to one of those languages that I learned."

Marina mumbled something quietly through her hands.

"Pardon?"

"You haven't even seen the licence plate, you little shit!" Pearl barked at her, stepping towards Lily, causing her to back up against the vehicle.

"Pearl! Language!" admonished Sheldon.

"No way! Ive got words for you too, crab boy!" She pointed a finger accusingly at the Inkling girl, and Lily's heart sank as she realised that she'd fucked up. "That phone! You got it from him, didn't you?"

"…No, I got it from the store like everyone else…"

"Not that one, this!" Pearl launched herself at Lily and both of them tumbled to the ground.

"What's gotten into you today?!" Sheldon rushed over and tugged at the back of Pearl's outfit, pulling her off.

But Pearl was holding something she'd pulled from Lily's pocket. Something glassy and white.

The iPhone.

She whipped around to Sheldon. "We gave this to you to translate! Why's she had it since?!"

"Because she could help me translate from human to—"

Sheldon's eyes went wide, and his mouth snapped shut.

But it was too late. The group around him had heard.

Silence. Uncomfortable silence.

"Excuse me," said a female crustacean to Lily, still pressed against the driver's side door, and everyone either jumped or snapped into a fake cheery expression. It seemed their conversation was either not being heard or was simply being ignored. "Do you mind if we take a look at the driver's seat?"

"O-oh, not at all!" Lily pushed herself off of the door, and the group as a whole stepped aside. "It's very fascinating stuff."

Once they were all a safe distance away from the public, in an alleyway on the side of the hotel, Lily caught her breath and tried to be respectful, feeling flustered. Lorne and Roller stood just outside the four-person circle that had formed between Pearl, Marina, Lily and Sheldon, shifting uncomfortably. "Look, yes, 'human' is one of the languages I studied. I've been using that phone alongside my regular phone to, uh… work out what humans back in the day were like. And grab stuff for Sheldon's translator."

Marina sighed exasperatedly. "And that'd be all well and good, if not for the fact that nobody in the world has completely deciphered the human language. Except for you. You're making all this up to try to blend in."

Lily's gaze dropped, and she stayed silent this time.

More silence. Lorne looked over to Roller. He was definitely paying attention this time, and his mouth was slightly ajar as if he was starting to realise just what Off the Hook was implying about this girl he'd only just met.

"Let me be blunt," Marina said finally, a very serious look on her face, arms crossed. "Are you human?"

"…Well that's just ridiculous," Lily said weakly, gesturing at her very-much-cephalopod body. "I've never… read anything about any human that could shape-shift."

"Really, girls…" Sheldon was starting to have had enough. "I don't understand what this is all about-"

"They're fuckin' deadly, Sheldon!" Pearl said, as if Sheldon should have known this all along. "They tried to wipe out everyone!"

"I've never heard anything about that," said Sheldon flatly, briefly glancing in Lily's direction.

Lily nodded, and glanced over at Lorne and Roller. Lorne raised an eyebrow. Roller just stared at her.

Sheldon continued, "Again, I don't get why you're so set on this. I've interacted with Lily quite frequently these past few weeks as she's settled into the city and—"

"IS SHE HUMAN?!" Pearl barked at him, clearly very frustrated at the fact that nobody else was apparently seeing this as a problem. Her fists were clenched and her body language gave the impression she was aching to start manhandling the two.

"No!" Sheldon said firmly. "Not anymore. Now drop it, both of you!"

But nobody heard the last sentence.

Marina gasped in shock, one hand over her mouth again, the other clenched into a fist. Pearl's mouth just hung open.

Lorne's hands were also over her mouth, in disappointment. Roller was in genuine shock.

Lily felt the color drain from her face. Within seconds, the world around her felt cold and alien to her again. She had to get out of here. Her eyes darted about for any avenue of escape.

And so, without thinking, she pushed off the wall, past the two girls, nearly knocking them over, and took off sprinting down the alleyway, past the crowd gathered around the car.

"HEY!" Pearl yelled after her. Marina immediately took off after the escaping Lily, and her partner called, "Get Eight and kick her ass!"

"On it! Loop me in!" Marina called back, and she was gone.

Pearl sighed. Feeling in her pocket for her radio, locking down the transmit button discreetly, she turned back to the horseshoe crab and the two Inklings. "Sheldon…" she started. "Do you realise now what you've done? You've doomed us all."

"I…" Sheldon let himself trail off. His eyes met Lorne's briefly, and then darted down to the ground.


	12. Human After All

Agent 8.

From somewhere deep underground, with the help of Pearl, Marina, and Captain Cuttlefish, who happened to be the leader of the legendary Squidbeak Splatoon, he had been given an entirely new life, here in Inkopolis.

But something about what he was doing right now, sprinting down the street after a fleeing Inkling, beside Marina Ida, felt very familiar.

And yet… after what he'd endured to get here, after what Marina had hurriedly told him as she had pulled him along, he knew something had to be done.

With his reddish tentacles styled like a Mohawk, and wearing casual clothing, he didn't look entirely out of place among the people moving along the sidewalk, though they gave the two Octolings a wide berth as they chased Lily down.

They both wore an earpiece hooked up to Marina's radio. As they listened to Pearls' impromptu interrogation, they chased the 'Inkling' down several blocks, even as she rushed into traffic just to attempt to escape the two.

They both saw her turn down another alleyway. Marina looked over at Agent 8 and noticed he had been carrying his backpack. "Hey, you got any of your old gear in there?"

"Uhh, I am having old Octarian gear still," he replied. Inkling was not his native language, and though he was being taught by Marina in her off-time, he was still a ways to go. "I am not having the time for sorting yet."

"That's okay. Good actually. I have an idea. Stop for a moment."

They halted just shy of the alleyway, and Marina rummaged through the pack quickly. "Come on… yes! A Disruptor! Oh! Even better, two!" She pulled two small devices from the pack. They looked like something that would play ultrasonic frequencies to repel mosquitos, but Marina took one and handed the other to Agent 8. "When we catch her, make sure we stick one of these on her."

Agent 8 nodded. "Marina approach from opposite of the ends. And then… eliminate the threat?"

"No!" Marina said firmly. "As much as I want to, no. Not unless it goes real ugly. Just… apprehend her. Incapacitate her if you have to. Whatever you have to do to stop her being a problem." Marina started to walk past the alleyway deliberately, as if she had not seen Lily turn down that way. "I'll signal through the radio when it's time to move in."

Marina kept walking around to the end of the block and rounded the corner, leaving Agent 8 alone to listen to Pearl at work. She'd finished having a go at Sheldon and had now moved onto two squids, apparently friends of the fugitive.

"_You. Boy. What's your name?"_

"_Uh… Roller."_

"_How long have you known the human?"_

"_L-less than an hour really. I was on their team at Makomart…"_

"_And you didn't notice anything weird about them?"_

"_Not until Lorne and her started talking about coming here and being secretive about Sheldon being their friend…"_

"_Is that it?"_

"_More or less. They seemed alright… Are they really as dangerous as you say?"_

"_For sure. But it's okay. We're on the case. That's all. Thanks kid."_

Silence. Agent 8 adjusted his earpiece, continuing to wait for Marina's signal.

"_What the hell, Pearl?!"_ A new female voice came in over Pearl's transmission. _"We vetted her! We've watched her for weeks! She's not evil or even dangerous! She just wants her old things so she can live a comfortable life like the rest of us!"_

"_Do you know that?"_

"_Yes! Even when she first came here—"_

A series of loud beeps came in over the earpiece, interrupting the conversation. Marina's signal. Time to move.

"_What the heck was that?"_

"_Just my phone, don't worry about it,"_ Pearl's voice replied, before 8 lowered the volume and stepped into the alleyway, scanning for signs of the fugitive, from ground to sky.

The alleyway was quiet. Besides a few locked backdoors into various businesses, a dumpster bin, and an employee's bicycle, there weren't many places that Lily could hide.

As he made his way toward the middle of the alleyway, toward Marina, A whirring sound caught his ears. He looked up, in its direction.

Oh. It was just an air conditioning unit. It was situated next to some piping on the wall. It was vibrating though, just slightly…

The Octoling followed the pipes upward.

And there she was, pulling herself over the edge, from the pipes onto the roof.

"I have finding her!" Eight called in Marina's direction, and set down his backpack to get out some climbing rope and a hook. _How'd she get up there?_ He thought.

* * *

She'd climbed, of course. She didn't need ink for that.

_Unlike the rest of these fools_, she thought smugly, _I'm descended from the most well-known climbers in the animal kingdom_. She wasn't as great as climbing up things like poles when she'd put on weight as a human, but now that she was lightweight again, it had been nearly a breeze, once she got a feel for it again.

But the sound of Marina's friend's call made her pick up the pace. Now she stood on the rooftop of some building. More A/C refrigeration units up here. One corner housed the roof access, but there was a small gap between it and one of the raised edges that gave her an idea.

She rushed for it, and, transforming, wedged her squid self into the gap. She hoped that nobody would spot the light blue squid in this small space wallowing in fear and depression.

She didn't have to wait long to find out. A hook, like a grappling hook, whizzed by her and wedged itself into the wall next to her. She adjusted her position, getting ready to make another run for it if necessary.

The boy appeared first, climbing up upon the edge, eyes scanning the rooftops around her. Lily, underneath his feet, in the little crevice, stayed absolutely still.

He stepped off onto the ground, next to the stairs leading down into the building, and Marina appeared where the boy was. Neither of them noticed Lily slowly edge her way to the opposite end of the crevice, away from them.

They spread out, searching the roof. Stepping around the A/C units and piping, they covered as much of the area as they felt was necessary. No sign of her.

"Is human of jumping from this platform to another?" Agent 8 asked, walking over to one of the sides facing the next building.

"I don't think so. Not the way she was acting." Marina sighed.

"Inkling girl and Sheldon crab is trust of her," the Octo boy said to her, gesturing at something in his ear. "This human did something to them?"

Marina was silent for a moment, looking over at him. "…No," she finally responded, with a sigh. "They looked completely normal. I don't know… I'm just scared we're going to have another repeat of NILS. I don't know what she's capable of. I still don't know what _humans_ are capable of."

"What is Marina knowing of humans?"

"Well… she has access to human technology. I've seen her with a laptop and a phone. I think the car at the hotel might have been hers. She also hangs out with that one girl you heard from Pearl. I think she's been her friend since she arrived."

Lily took advantage of their inattention to inch her way over to the Octolings' climbing rope, trying to get up onto the ledge without changing and making noise.

Eight turned to look at Marina. "I am meaning… Coming of another Tartar is scaring me too. He played a fiddle with me, and she maybe will play us in…" He trailed off.

"…What?" Marina asked, concerned. She noticed Eight staring off in the direction of the rope they used to get up, past her shoulder.

Marina turned around.

There was a light-blue squid frozen in place on the edge of the roof by the rope, its eyes frozen in their direction.

There she was.

They stared at each other for a few seconds.

And then Lily finally launched herself from the ledge, transforming, and as the Octolings ran over, they saw her rush back onto the sidewalk and disappear from view.

The human was gone.

Agent 8 and Marina both looked at each other, then leapt off from the roof and raced off in her direction.

* * *

Lily kept running until she was at least two blocks away from the alleyway. Getting closer to the main CBD, the foot traffic became thicker and it got harder for her to maneuver around the people. On the plus side though, to her, the Octolings would have also found it more difficult to push through the crowd to her, and she was eventually able to lose them in the crowd, for the moment.

Once she felt sure she wasn't being followed anymore, Lily slowed down and found a bench to sit and think.

She took deep breaths, wiping sweat from her brow. She looked about at the crowd passing by her. For some reason she expected them all to avoid her, but besides being given an odd look by the folks she'd passed by on her run, nobody seemed to care who she was.

For now, anyway.

_Okay. Let's recap, me. You've been found out. By the news crew of all people. They seem to think you're tied to some other human, whoever this 'Tartar' is or was._

_And because of him they think you're also going to try to 'wipe out everyone', whatever that actually meant._

_And now they must believe that Sheldon and Lorne are part of some conspiracy to … I guess allow me to complete that task? Surely 'everyone' would include them, they realise? What did this Tartar guy do?!_

_Damnit, this life was too good to be true._

She spent a few moments just wallowing for a moment. She felt guilty, for some reason. She wondered where she could be safe. Then she realised…

_Wait, shit. The news. They know what I look like, they think I'm dangerous, they have a motive. They… they could actually expose me to the world._

_… I can't be seen again._

_Not if don't want to ruin my friends' lives here. Not if I don't want people to stay safe._

_So where do I go?_

Lily looked at her phone. It was only 2:30pm. She also noticed several messages waiting for her from Lorne.

"Where are you going?" "Don't do anything rash". "Marie says the Hideout welcomes you, use the sewers".

_Right… that's right, I literally just ran off on them. They must be worried sick about me. Fuck, what do I do?_

_Our apartment is quiet enough that I should be able to get in without getting spotted by those two… three._

_Who even was that boy, anyway?_

Lily typed out a quick reply. "I'm ok. Meet you at your place. Need to pack."

She loaded up her map on her phone to figure out the quickest way back to the apartment, and set off again, following its directions.

* * *

"let me in" was the entirety of the text Agent 4 received as she paced nervously about her apartment. As soon as she saw it was from Five, she'd rushed over to the apartment door and opened it, the electronic lock automatically disengaging.

Lily entered quickly, this air of intense worry and panic about her. "Shut the door," she said as she half-ran over to the bed, grabbing her backpack and starting to frantically pack her things into it.

"Lily, where are you going? I know they know now, but-"

"Lorne, I have to. I'm taking up Marie's offer."

"But just… just lay low here for a bit."

"They'll come after you. And Sheldon." Lily stopped packing for a moment, and turned around to her, clinging to her. "They think I am going to kill everyone or something. They gotta think you're my accomplices. I have to leave Inkopolis."

"…That's just ridiculous, Lily. How could they think that? You're only one person."

"I don't know. There was apparently another."

"Another what?"

"Human, apparently. I have to do some research when I get to the Hideout. Now where's my laptop…" She stopped holding onto Lorne and frantically swept the apartment for it, finding it on the couch.

"…Another human? Are you sure?"

"I don't know! Whatever they did or tried to do though, they seem to think I'm going to try to do. I heard them talking about it."

Lily shoved the laptop into the bag, checked her pockets for her phones, and picked up the backpack, swinging it onto her back.

"Lily. Remember what I said. Don't do anything rash."

"I'm not." She started to move. Lorne grabbed her hand.

"If you have to go and stay with the Sisters, then sure. But stay. With. Them. I don't want to see you get killed over this."

"I'll… I'll be fine. I'll text you when I get there."

"Fine. Just… come back soon, okay? I'm gonna miss you."

Lily turned to look at her pleading eyes. Her own eyes were teary. Quietly, she said, "I'll miss you too. I hope this won't be long term."

Lorne nodded, and silently pulled her friend into an embrace. Lily clung tightly to her, burying her head against her shoulder.

"…So I follow the sewer system?"

"…yeah… Head towards the square and I think you'll eventually figure out where you need to go."

Lily nodded. A moment's silence. "Lorne… I'm scared," she choked out.

"…I know, Lily. I'm scared too. I don't know what's going to happen." She leaned her head against Lily's. "Just… try and be strong for me, okay? Come home soon."

"…Home…"

Lily gently pulled away from the hug, and her hands moved around to take Agent 4's hands in hers. "I'll… I'll text you when I get to the Hideout."

"…Okay." Lorne was tearing up now too. She squeezed Agent 5's hands tight, and then let go.

They both stared at each other for a few moments.

Then Agent 5 slowly turned away, and made for the door. She opened it and turned back to her friend.

"Stay safe, Four."

"…Look who's talking. Take care of yourself, Five."

Lily nodded, and stepped outside, closing the door behind her.

* * *

It wasn't too difficult to find a sewer grate. They seemed to be fairly common, thankfully. Agent 5 had only to walk a few minutes in one direction to find one she could slip through.

The sewer canals themselves were more spacious than she expected. Walkways and maintenance ladders and inkrails and the like lined the side, above the multicolored liquid flowing through. The lighting down here was dim. Light sources about every 50 meters, or at every junction. Not black, but dark enough to instill some nervousness in any other person.

For Lily though, it certainly didn't help her current frame of mind.

She stepped carefully along the pathways, her map pointing her in the direction of the Square. Occasionally she'd stop to listen out for other activity, but she could hear nothing else but the sound of her own echoing steps, the traffic above every grate she passed, and the river-like flow of sludge.

An hour and a half passed of walking through the sewers. Lily had begun to realise just how large of a city Inkopolis was.

Finally she started to hear music filtering down from a grate up ahead. She was approaching the Square from underneath! From here she recognised the way to Octo Valley, and the Tentakeel Hideout. She let out a sigh of relief. She was almost there.

Then something dropped from through the grate above. It didn't look like a squid…

But then it reformed and, in the light from the surface, Lily could see exactly what it was and her heart sank.

Marina was stood in front of her.

She started to walk towards Lily, and the scared inkling turned to flee.

Only to run right into the Octo boy.

They struggled briefly, but he quickly had her under his control. One arm tightly around her neck. The other gripping her hands behind her back.

Marina began to walk up to them. "Good work, Eight. You've still got it, I see."

Lily looked about frantically at the both of them. "L-look, okay, yes, I'm… the 'h' word," she said in a hushed voice, glancing about for anyone that might be watching, though they were alone. "But I'm not affiliated with anyone, not evil, I've honestly no idea who this Tartar guy is that you think I'm striving to emulate or something." She thought they might have interrupted her by now, but they didn't. "I didn't even mean to get here, but since I'm in your world now… I'm just trying to make a life out of nothing. Honest."

Marina frowned. She had taken something out of her pocket and lobbed it in the boy's direction. Briefly, he took his arm away from Lily's neck to grab the device, activate it and swiftly place it on Lily's back where she would not be able to reach. It emitted ultra-low frequency rumblings that vibrated throughout her entire form. It felt uncomfortable…

"G-gghh," Lily 'said', teeth clenched. "The hell is that?"

"Disruptor," said the boy. You will not getting away of this."

"Did… did neither of you listen to me?" Lily started to struggle again, but Agent 8 was trained, and his grip was tight.

"What have you done to Sheldon and the girl?" Marina asked sharply. "Can it be reversed?"

"I've not… done anything to them! Ugh!" Lily grunted as Eight's arm was back around her neck. Drawing in air as best she could, she continued, "I've just been as much of myself as I /can/ be in my situation. You've obviously talked to them, you know they're— fine! Hey— you're— choking—me!" She started to struggle more as Eight tightened his grip, trying to draw in more breath, but he wouldn't budge.

Since her legs were unrestrained and he wasn't giving her an inch, she decided that she had to take action. With an "I'm sorry" to Marina, she swiftly swung her leg up behind her, crashing her foot into the boy's crotch. He howled in pain and reflexively let go.

They both collapsed to the ground, Lily on her knees as she drew a few deep breaths. She looked up briefly, to see Marina rushing up at her. She pushed herself to the side, up against the wall as she passed. As Marina ran past her, head turning to see what the squid was up to, Lily lashed out with her leg again and caught Marina, causing her to trip and tumble over Eight.

They were both dazed for a moment. Lily slowly got up, still catching her breath. "Look," she said eventually, taking a few steps back. "I'm sorry about that. I genuinely wish I didn't need to defend myself against you. You especially, Marina." She sighed. "But I can see my continued presence in Inkopolis is going to cause problems. And I value my life, at least a little. So if it's all the same to you, I'll be leaving. You'll not have to see me again." She turned and ran for the inkline past the Square grate that would take her to Tentakeel, away from this madness.

"Aaaand…" An unknown voice from somewhere. Lily whipped her head around, trying to find the source as she ran underneath the grate.

"BOOYAH!"

A foot connected hard against Lily's head, and it snapped backwards. Lily was reeling in an instant.

But then the weight of an Inkling crashed down on her, and she was knocked to the ground. She was out cold.

Pearl was in the house.

She'd dropped in, literally.

"And that's how it's done!" She got up from on top of Lily's unconscious form, dusting herself off. Then she noticed Marina and Eight on the ground a short ways away, and kicked Lily in the side again for good measure, before running over to check on her friends. "Shit, are you okay guys? What did she do?!"

"Ughh, I'm alright Pearl," Marina said, rolling onto her back and sitting up, rubbing her knees. "She just tripped me. Eight on the other hand…"

They both looked over at him, writhing in pain, clutching himself.

"She uh, she kicked him in a… sensitive area to get loose," Marina explained.

Pearl winced. "Yowch. Sorry Eight. Well, good job finding her, both of ya. I'm glad we didn't let the human get away."

"Yeah…" There was silence for a moment, except for the pained cries of Eight. "I wonder though…"

"Well, she's a squid now, right? Means just one easy way to be done with the humans for good." Pearl withdrew her Dualies from her pockets. "May I do the honors?"

"Pearl, no."

"What? Why?"

"I want to know." Marina finally got up and walked over to Lily's body. Pearl followed her, and tugged the backpack off of her body and started rifling through it. "She's basically confirmed for us that she _is_ human. And that just raises more questions to me."

"Mmm. The timing of her arriving, all that stuff falling down, and then this thing with Eight and Tartar and Craig… It's all too suspect to ignore."

"It's all been rather strange, hasn't it?" Marina knelt down, slipping her hand into Lily's left shorts pocket and removing its contents. Both of her phones… "Well, before anything else, now's a great time to find out what she's doing here."

She pocketed the devices briefly, and maneuvered herself to grab Lily's shoulders. "Here, help me get her up against the wall. I don't suppose you brought anything we could bind her hands with, did you?"


	13. Going Wrong

"Marina, we've been keeping watch for _eeever_. Just wake her up already."

"It's been like half an hour, you two. You don't take a hit like that and just get back up right away…"

Light streamed in from the open end of the sewer tunnel not too far away from the group that sat just inside. Marina and (reluctantly) Eight had carried Lily's unconscious body away from the Square to a more secluded part of the system. A facility they had passed, built into the sewer tunnels, filtered the ink from the flows, and clear water and oil now emptied from here into the canals just ahead.

Initially, the plan was just to question the human where they were. But after a close encounter with an Inkling up on the surface nearly stumbling upon them, they had decided to move further up, to where the tunnels joined the main canal.

"Yeah, but we got _things_ to do! We can't just sit around like this! Why don't we just chuck her in the canal and call it a day?"

Marina looked up from browsing through Lily's iPhone. "Pearl, that's called murder." She had discovered the fingerprint lock mechanism, and had figured it out enough to try unlocking the phone with Lily's thumbs. Naturally, it had worked. Now she sat next to the unconscious Inkling as she looked through random applications and messages, wishing she could understand the text…

"And? Marina, she's _human_, remember?" Pearl turned her back to the tunnel entrance and faced the Octos. "She doesn't _belong_ here."

"No, she doesn't. But at the same time…" Marina paused to think. "No, I can't allow it. I wanna know what she has to say first. Then if there's any way to send her back…"

"Well, at least wake her up, yo! I'm tired of waiting around!"

Marina sighed, and thought out her options. "Well, perhaps some of those strong smelling salts would do the trick… I didn't think to bring any with me, and I think that's probably the quickest way to do that. I can go back and get some, if you and Eight will watch Lily."

"Yeah, okay. We can handle her." Pearl nodded, already forming a plan. "We've got this!"

"Great. Alright." Marina stood up, having knelt and examined Lily carefully. "I'll be back shortly, alright? Fifteen minutes, max." She started to jog back into the tunnel, waving back at Pearl and Agent Eight.

Pearl waved until her bandmate had disappeared behind a corner, then turned to Eight. "She's got a point, Eight, but we can't afford to waste time on this. Who knows what'll happen, eh? I know just how to wake her up. Watch this."

Pearl pulled out her Dualies as she approached Lily's body, straddling her. She watched her face quietly for a few moments, noticing she had gone into a regular sleep. Then she raised her right hand and smacked the side of one of the Dualies against Lily's temple.

The low groan from the Inkling told Pearl what she wanted to know - she was waking.

* * *

Lily was smacked awake some unknown time after being knocked out. Her head seared with pain from the earlier blow and her vision swam briefly as she tried to make sense of where she was.

"Oy. Eyes up here." Someone in white was standing in front of her. She blinked her eyes a few times, and they came into focus.

It was Pearl. And she was aiming a pair of Splat Dualies right at her.

She seemed to have been dragged up against the wall of the sewer tunnel. She guessed that she may have been too heavy to be moved away from the sewers, but she was now not too far off from the end of the underground tunnel. Her hands were also bound behind her back. The Octoling boy was with them, to her left - he had his own weapon, Splattershot-like, also aimed at her.

Lily sighed and closed her eyes. "Well? What's the hold-up? Do it already."

"Nuh uh," Pearl said with a smirk. "It's time to talk."

Grumbling, Lily looked around for other options. Maybe she could get herself into the ink river, assuming it didn't hurt, and get to safety that way? She focused for a moment, turning into a squid before they knew what was happening.

Except she couldn't.

For whatever reason, the vibrations of the device that still rumbled on her back were preventing her from changing.

"Hey, what the?" Lily exclaimed. "What did you do to me?!"

Pearl smirked. "Eight tells me a Disruptor basically stops the target from changing forms while it's active. So no way you're going squid around us. And," she let a bit of teeth show, stepping a bit closer, "that does mean you won't be allowed to respawn if you're a bad human. So you better behave, yeah?"

Lily thought about this. "That… basically means I'll die, right?"

"Oh would you look at that." The smirk grew ever-wider. "I guess humans are somewhat intelligent."

"Why, Pearl?" Lily sighed, watching the Dualie barrels carefully. "Why are you guys so angry and scared of me? I swear I'm not dangerous…"

"You know exactly why, human. I guess it's too bad your little toy statue didn't kill us all, huh? 'Cuz now we're gonna take our revenge on you."

Lily's face dropped, and her brows furrowed in confusion. _Oh… this is gonna suck…_

"Alright kid, 'fess up." Pearl pressed the barrel of one of her Dualies against Lily's forehead. "Why are you here?"

"… Fine," Lily finally said, and her body slumped in defeat. "I'm _here_ to rebuild my life, fuck you very much. Since I was so _rudely_ pulled out of my own time. I don't know why I'm here, though. I honestly don't."

"Why?" The barrel pressed into her forehead more firmly, leaving a mark.

"Because I don't even know _how_ I got here. What I do know makes no sense."

"Tell us."

Lily stared up at Pearl with a scowl. "Fell down a ravine, probably to my death, suddenly was above Octo Valley." Her eyes narrowed. "No. Fucking. Sense."

"I'm not sure I believe you… human."

"Much as I really despise what you're doing, I've no reason to lie." One brief moment later, she revised: "Not _anymore_."

Pearl slowly, cautiously, eased the Dualie barrel off of Lily's head. "Then turn back. Show me what you really look like."

Lily shook her head. "Goddamnit Pearl, that's impossible. Humans can't shape-shift."

"Bullshit! Why are you disguised as an Inkling then?"

"I'm not disguised! … I _am_ an Inkling now. I thought you would have asked Sheldon that. I heard you had quite the chat with my friends." She sighed. "Cephalopods have been evolving without us for hundreds, thousands, I dunno, millions of years? Your ink as a defence mechanism has a much more violent reaction to humans now. I got changed because I landed in ink."

"That sounds ridiculous."

"I realise. But everything else has evolved with you guys. We haven't."

"And what does this have to do with NILS?"

"…What's NILS? Pardon?"

"Don't be daft! We know you worked with Tartar to try to kill us all and give humans back the world!"

Lily just stared at her. "…the _fuck_ are you on about, Pearl?! I've no idea what either of those things are! I don't want to destroy-"

"SHUT IT!" Pearl's Dualie muzzles pressed firmly against Lily's head, and the human-Inkling saw the other's fingers rest on the triggers. "That's enough. Ya done, son."

Lily sighed and closed her eyes. As she waited for Pearl to make a move, almost hoping for Pearl to open fire on her, she wondered what death would feel like…

"Lily! Hang on!"

"Don't come any closer!" Pearl and Eight stood up, training their weapons in the direction of the voice, further into the darkness of the sewer tunnels. Lily also looked over, hopeful.

At first, they didn't see anything.

Then two figures came around the corner, not too far away, coming towards them. The first was clearly Marina, and she had brought some smelling salts to awaken Lily.

But Marina had led someone to them. And judging by the custom Brella pointed at her back, not by choice. She looked ashamed as her eyes met Pearl's.

The person behind Marina… Pearl's hearts sank.

The intruder's face dropped as she came closer, and her brandished custom Brella lowered slightly. Her eyes darted from Pearl, to Lily, to the Octoling boy in gear similar to, but not quite like, Octavio's own forces.

"No…" Marie breathed, shocked. "I would never have believed you, _both_ of you, would be working with the enemy."

Marina blinked, and swapped glances with her friends, the color draining from her face. "M-Marie… No… We…"

"Let go of her and step aside. _Now_." Marie refocused her Brella on Marina. "Don't make me use this on her…"

"I can't believe you're working with the human!" Pearl spat, raising her Dualies again_ at Marie_.

"Pearlie! Stop!" Marina gasped out. She was in the middle of this standoff. This was not a situation she wanted to be in.

"Yes, I am!" Marie slowly stepped towards them, keeping her Brella up, pushing Marina forward. "I don't know why you're spreading these rumors, but I will personally vouch for her credibility!"

Pearl seemed taken aback by the accusation. "They aren't rumors!" she cried out. "We saw the threat with our own eyes! We stopped the threat, for goodness sake! We're stopping her before the humans try again to wipe us all out for good! _Including_ you, Marie!"

"You're being ridiculous. What about him?" Marie pointed her weapon at Eight, and Eight reflexively trained his weapon on her. "Don't try it, octoslob."

"He's on our side!" Pearl yelled. "I mean, he's on your side. I mean…"

"He's a refugee," clarified Marina. "We helped him escape, and start a new life! What we went through to get him here is _why_ we're so concerned about the human!"

"Why are you telling her?!" hissed Pearl in Marina's direction.

"She needs to know the _facts_," Marina replied, facing them but clearly addressing Marie. "To know just what she has sided with."

"I know exactly who I've sided with, thanks." Marie inched the two of them closer, at least until the Octo boy raised his weapon again. "And she is nothing like I have heard from you both. I'd know, I found the poor girl in the first place."

"You WHAT?!" Pearl yelled at her, astounded. "You are the one that unleashed Tartar upon us?"

"I didn't unle— wait, who?" Marie furrowed her brows. "Who the heck is Tartar? I only know a Lily." She nodded at the body sat on the ground. "And she's been with me or A— …or her friend Lorne ever since she got here. You don't truly believe _me_ to be working against Inkopolis, do you?"

"Well… n-no but… humans—"

"Are extinct now." Marie tried to put on a friendlier voice. She hoped she would be able to get them to at least stand down… "Yes, one has survived, somehow. But from all of my time working and hanging out with her, she has been the complete opposite of what you have said humans are like." She sighed. "Even if humans do somehow become a threat in the future, I assure you that she will not be one of them. She's embraced her new life, as one of us. Now lower your weapons and let me treat her."

"You first," Pearl said firmly, not entirely convinced.

"I'll put my weapon down if you do," Marie offered.

Pearl sighed. "Let Marina go and we'll do it."

Marie rolled her eyes. "I won't let her go free, but I'll let her return over to you." She nudged the idol in their direction and, slowly, Marina got the hint, crossing the gap between them, returning to Pearl and Eight.

Pearl nodded. "Fine… We'll all go on three."

Marie nodded, and slowly began to lower the Brella, watching Pearl and Eight carefully. "One… Two…"

Both Pearl and Eight reluctantly began to drop their weapons to their side.

"Three."

Marie's Brella hung limply from her hand, as did Pearl's Dualies and Eight's Octoshot.

"Much better." Marie closed the distance between them cautiously, and knelt down before Lily's form, examining her bruises and squeezing her hand comfortingly. Now that Marie was up close with her, she noticed that her clothes were rough and worn from being dragged against the concrete for such a long distance.

"So… what's actually going on, then?" Marina quietly asked. "Who is she?"

Marie looked at the three of them silently before answering, "She was brought here against her will. I was the one who found her, so… we became friends. I've been helping her settle into the city with the help of Sheldon and Lorne. That's all I feel comfortable saying for now, especially after this stunt you've pulled."

She stood up, turning to them. "Now I strongly recommend you three go back to whatever you were doing before you decided to terrorize this poor girl. I'll be taking her back to her place. Come on, Lily, up you get…" She bent down briefly to help the pained Inkling slowly get to her feet. "We'll chat about this some other time, girls. And I expect your full co-ordination from now on." They started to walk down the sewer path, back the way they had came.

Pearl, Marina, and Eight stared after her as she left, then looked at each other.

"Oh, and Marina…"

"Yes… Marie?"

"If I hear that you've started working for Octavio again, I _will_ be back. _We_ will be back. Am I clear?"

"…Yes, Marie. No chance of that happening."

"Good. You all take care now."

And Marie half-carried Lily as they made their way back.

Pearl cocked her head in Marina's direction. "What on Earth happened there?"

Marina sighed, not turning to face her. "She jumped me when I got back to the Square after getting those salts… Lily's phone had gotten a message, but I didn't know who it was from until I got back down into the sewers and was ambushed." She sighed and finally turned back to Pearl and Eight. "Did you get much out of her?"

"A bit…" Pearl kicked the concrete ground in annoyance. "She's really sticking to the idea that she doesn't know about Tartar or NILS at all. Swears she is an Inkling now. Says she was brought to our time but not of her own accord."

"Hm…" Marina thought quietly. _Something is still clearly up, but… I guess it's possible she could, in fact, be a bystander of sorts…_

"Marina…" Pearl prodded her bandmate. "What did Marie mean? Who's Octavio?"

"Ah… that's a bit of a long story," Marina said nervously, sharing a glance with Agent Eight. "I guess we can tell it on the way back. Wanna learn about my old boss?"

* * *

Agent 4 checked her phone yet again. Still no messages. _Come on, Lily…_

Since Lily had left about an hour and some ago, she had eagerly awaited her next message, that would tell her she had made it to the Hideout.

But that message had not arrived. _She should have made it safely by now… What if they had caught her?_

_What if she had never arri—_

The chime of the doorbell broke her chain of thought, and she panicked. _Oh no, what if she was right, and they _are_ here to… have words with me?_

She grabbed her Hero Shot from the kitchen bench and inched her way over to the door.

Slowly, quietly, in case she had to pretend she wasn't there, she looked through the peephole.

And saw Marie, Callie, and… a battered Lily.

She quickly unlocked and opened the door, tossing her weapon aside. "Oh my cod!" she cried out as she assisted them, guiding Lily to the couch to crash. "What happened?!"

"She got ambushed beneath the Square," Marie told her. "They knew she was going via the sewers. I'm glad I thought to come and find her, as you can tell they got… pretty physical with her." The two sat on either side of Lily, but Lorne quickly pulled her into an embrace while Marie leaned forward to look into the girl's eyes. "Hey, you alright in there? You've not said a word since I found you."

Lily turned her head slowly to look at her. Swallowing, she said, "They beat me around the head kinda hard. The pain is making it hard to think right now. But thank you for coming to help me. And sorry."

"Ssshhhh. You're fine." Marie rested her hand on her shoulder. "We know you way better than they do. We've got your back."

As Marie told Lorne about what she had found in the sewers, Callie placed her backpack down on the floor. Everything had (thankfully) been left intact. The bag was a mess though - it was clear that everything had been pulled out and then jammed back in. She did notice a lack of something though… "Uhh, Lily's phones are missing," she announced to the group.

"Oh, shit right…" Lily said, a little slowly as she nuzzled into Lorne's shoulder. "Apparently Marina has them…"

"Oh, _joy_." Lorne sighed. "So, what now?"

"Well… First I rest up." Lily sighed deeply, noticing the pain was beginning to dull. "And then I guess I'm just gonna have to sit down with 'em and _prove_ I'm no threat."

"And hopefully work out what the deal is with this Tartar nonsense," added Marie. "They seem to have Lily confused for some other person that _is_ or at least _was_ a threat."

"But to do _this_ to her?" Lorne gestured at her friend. "I thought Pearl and Marina were better than this."

"I mean, if they were convinced she was a world-ending threat…" Callie frowned. She was in the kitchenette, fixing everyone up glasses of milk as she spoke. "Not that that makes it right, but…"

"Of course it doesn't!" Lorne said, raising her voice and startling Lily slightly. "They should know better than to just… do what they did, human or not!"

"_Marina_ should know better," Marie corrected. "And maybe she does now, now that we've shaken her up a bit. She'd've been in Lily's shoes when she first arrived. Pearl, I'm not sure she gets it yet…"

"I don't know her as well as you two probably do," Lorne started, "but she doesn't strike me as the type to think this sort of situation through!"

Callie and Marie both made non-committal grunts. "It's hard to say," Callie said, as she handed out glasses of milk to the rest of the crew, and sat on the couch arm next to Marie. "There are some things she does really well, I mean she promoted Off the Hook on her own when they first got together. And yeah, she got a little wild now and then, but this… Maybe it's worth investigating this thing they keep mentioning, cous'."

"…Yeah, I think you're right." Marie thought for a moment, looking intently at Lorne and Lily as she sipped at her milk glass. "Lily. Agent 5. Are… you still up for our kinda work? I know it's been real rough today…"

Lily stared sleepily up at her, having curled up on the couch, her head resting in Lorne's lap. She said simply, "I gotta…"

"Sure, but do you _want _to? Because if you do, I'll have a task for you and Agent 4 that will involve this Tartar character."

Lily thought for a few long moments, but nodded. "I'll do what I can," she yawned, "to keep everyone safe."

Marie smiled, satisfied. "Alright," she began. "When you do go and see Marina and Pearl again, first off I… think I'd like you to bring Four with you as support. No need for you to be on your own again if things go downhill. OK, Four?"

Lorne nodded. "I'd be glad to protect her."

"Secondly, I want you to find out from them what exactly happened with Tartar, what NILS is, all that. Find out where they were last seen. Then report back to us, and we'll all figure out where to go from there. That sound good?"

Lily nodded silently.

"Cool. Don't worry, Lily. We've got your back."

"I wish Gramps were here…" Callie sighed. "His insight would be so helpful…"

"Yeah…" Marie sighed. "He and Agent 3 have been gone for quite a while now. I hope that their work has been going alright…"

"They know what they're doing. I bet they're doing just fine." Callie smiled. "I just wish he'd get in touch…"

Marie nodded. "I hope he comes back soon. I'm sure he would love to meet the new Agents."

"I would love to meet him one day," Lorne smiled at them. She had sat Lily up, who was still looking a little groggy, and sipped at her glass.

Marie nodded again, and the apartment was quiet for a minute as everyone drank up.

Lorne reached for the remote during this downtime and flicked on the TV. There was a League battle being broadcast, whom three of the girls recognised were two of the higher-ranked teams duking it out in a Tower Control setting. The network was providing its own commentary.

"Oh, sweet!" Callie perked up. I haven't seen these guys playing in ages. Mind if we watch?" She asked Lorne.

"Not at all," Lorne smiled. "You a sports person, Lily?"

"This sorta sports, I could get into I think." Lily rubbed the back of her head and found her gaze drawn to the television screen. She found herself easily distracted by the battle unfolding.

"I heard you did pretty well for your first battle," Marie complimented, glad the conversation was pivoting away from business. "Who knows, this could be you one day."

"Funny."

"Well, keep training and battling and we'll see, mm?" Callie smiled at her.

Everyone started to relax as they enjoyed the battles on TV. Callie and Marie both ended up staying for dinner, ordering from the local "Fish's Chip Takeaway" and enjoying some hot, deep-fried, crunchy chips with their Agents. When they finally said their farewells, well after the sun had set, the mood had much improved, and Lily felt more confident that she might be able to deal with Off the Hook.

And as she and Lorne got into bed for the night, she was once again reminded of just how glad she was to have them as friends.

* * *

* DJ_Hyperfresh has joined the chatroom  
* MC_Princess has joined the chatroom  
MC_Princess] AYO  
Octagent] hello  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Hey everyone, we're back from work stuff.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Octagent: Are you doing OK?  
Octagent] am using cold-pack  
Octagent] less pain now  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Thank goodness! That was quite the hit you took earlier  
Octagent] yes. They will being sore for rest of day  
* IAmThree has joined the chatroom  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Well be sure to give yourself a break, I hear they get sensitive when people play rough with them…  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Uh  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Ahahaha  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Hi there 3!  
IAmThree] I won't ask  
MC_Princess] I still think you should go with SquidbeakThreek, IAmThree  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Yeah Eight got uh… kicked right between the legs today  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I'll explain shortly  
IAmThree] Oh youch  
IAmThree] MC_Princess: I made it my backup username, but it's not really my style  
IAmThree] So who's who again?  
MC_Princess] Yo it's Pearl!  
MC_Princess] Marina is DJ_Hyperfresh, Octagent is Agent 8  
MC_Princess] No points for guessing who CraigCuttlefish is  
CraigCuttlefish] yes?  
MC_Princess] Hey Cap your boy IAmThree is here  
CraigCuttlefish] hello again agent 3  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Oh no…  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Pearl, her phone's locked again.  
MC_Princess] Really?! Aw nuts  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I guess when the screen turned off it must have auto-locked.  
IAmThree] Whose phone?  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I'd have to either get her fingerprint again or guess the code. And I've never seen her type in the code.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] One sec Three  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Remember when you came up to the surface, we mentioned a girl who seemed suspicious?  
MC_Princess] SHE'S TOTALLY A HUMAN THREE  
MC_Princess] CONFIRMED  
CraigCuttlefish] HUMAN?  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Aww, I wanted to be the one to tell him…  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Are you going to do that every time?  
CraigCuttlefish] yes  
IAmThree] Holy shit  
IAmThree] Are you sure?  
MC_Princess] HEARD THE WORDS RIGHT OUT OF HER MOUTH  
Octagent] I have hearing of the words too  
IAmThree] But the fossils…  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Oh no they are totally still extinct  
DJ_Hyperfresh] It's some weird time travel thing, seems like.  
IAmThree] Soo… are they connected to NILS then?  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Well we… haven't been able to prove that yet.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I didn't notice any familiar NILS/Kamabo logos or icons on her phone  
IAmThree] They gotta be, right?  
IAmThree] A machine created by humans shows up, then an actual human?  
MC_Princess] See, me and Three are on the same wavelength  
MC_Princess] Can't be a coincidence  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I get what you are getting at.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I just have to consider it's possible they don't know each other…  
DJ_Hyperfresh] The statue and Tartar has to have been operating since humans went extinct. And we've only been seeing the human herself for like… a month.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] MC_Princess: check PMs

* Private message with MC_Princess  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Should we mention the Marie thing?  
MC_Princess] Uhhhh good question  
MC_Princess] With Cap about probably not  
MC_Princess] That could cause some big problems  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Yeah that might tear him apart… if he thinks his family is working opposite him  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Maybe I'll just… not mention it right now.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] If it becomes important then yeah but for now…  
MC_Princess] Good call  
MC_Princess] I'll zip it then

* Now chatting in #MarinasChatroom  
IAmThree] So what happened?  
MC_Princess] So this ancient car was found on the roof of the New Albacore Hotel right?  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Yeah, they're rebuilding the roof to be part of the Turf War circuit, so they can get more traffic and stuff. And then a few weeks ago, news gets out of this vehicle just… sitting on the roof. In the middle of a construction site.  
MC_Princess] Totally weird yeah?  
DJ_Hyperfresh] They finally got it down off the roof today, so we were there doing a piece on it for the news crew.  
MC_Princess] And WHO HAPPENS TO BE IN THE CROWD but the weird girl, and her friend  
MC_Princess] And SHELDON  
IAmThree] Sheldon's in on this? Wow  
MC_Princess] Yeah he knows  
MC_Princess] He was also the one who told us she was human  
DJ_Hyperfresh] So we went in and had a talk with em  
DJ_Hyperfresh] And things got kinda… heated  
DJ_Hyperfresh] She tried to tell us she studied the human language or something like that.  
IAmThree] I don't remember any school offering anything like that  
MC_Princess] Yeah they don't  
MC_Princess] She was totally making shit up  
DJ_Hyperfresh] And then yeah, Sheldon cracked and confirmed it for us, and she ran off.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] We caught her not too long ago to ask questions, but another… friend of hers arrived and hauled her off.  
MC_Princess] So yeah it's been wild today  
DJ_Hyperfresh] A bit of an adventure, yes.  
CraigCuttlefish] inklings helping humans? sounds like conspiracy  
MC_Princess] Conspiracy adventure? I dig it  
IAmThree] What are they actually doing then  
MC_Princess] Settling in or some junk SO THEY SAY  
MC_Princess] I still think they have something to do with NILS  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Well… I've been thinking, after her friend came to rescue her  
DJ_Hyperfresh] She did have her first Turf War game today…  
MC_Princess] Yeah and?  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Well, like… We haven't seen much from her, she seems like she's making an effort to blend into Inkopolis, right?  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Tartar hated our culture entirely, Lily seems at least to be trying to embrace it  
MC_Princess] I guess she does have friends in Sheldon and that one girl  
CraigCuttlefish] so wait is the human good or not  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Uhh… She's not Tartar levels of bad, yet anyway  
DJ_Hyperfresh] But I'm not ready to call her 'good' yet…  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I don't think she will want to talk to us anymore after how we handled her though…  
MC_Princess]Let's give her some space and see what she gets up to  
CraigCuttlefish] I could get agent 1 and 2 on the case if theyre not busy  
MC_Princess] Maybe  
DJ_Hyperfresh] I dunno… She hasn't _tried_ anything yet.  
DJ_Hyperfresh] But I'll keep that in mind  
MC_Princess] Hey Octagent hasn't posted for a while  
MC_Princess] You OK 8?  
Octagent] yes  
Octagent] screen is moving fast like  
Octagent] makes the reading hard  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Yeah this is the fastest this chatroom has ever gone!  
MC_Princess] We'll keep you guys informed  
DJ_Hyperfresh] Yeah as the folks say at work, it's a 'developing story'.  
CraigCuttlefish] don't worry eight  
CraigCuttlefish] it will die down again soon  
Octagent] die?  
Octagent] :(  
MC_Princess] It just gets quiet sometimes 8  
MC_Princess] Thats all he meant  
Octagent] ok  
Octagent] :)


	14. Something About Us

The next morning, like most others, began with Lorne's radio alarm. As always, it switched on at 8AM and the hosts of whatever Sunday breakfast show was actually going on handed off to the news bulletins.

_"Y'all know what time it is!"_

As soon as the voices of Off the Hook came on the air for the live morning news broadcast, both Lorne and Lily tensed, their eyes shooting open.

_"It's Off the Hook, live from Inkopolis Square!"_

"Ah, fuck…" Lily said drowsily, and Lorne, turned the other way in their bed, felt her curl up. "Here it comes…"

Lorne turned over, shuffling in to cuddle her, wrapping her arms just under her friend's chest, holding her close. "They wouldn't, Lily. Just remember… no matter what they say, we're here."

_"Before we announce the day's stages, let's kick it over to Marina for the news!"_

_"Hello! First off, our top story today: A large, ancient four-wheeled vehicle was finally lifted from the roof of the New Albacore Hotel yesterday."_

Lorne heard Lily hold her breath.

_"There are plenty of rumors flying about for how it got there, but here are the facts - The car is still in decent condition, despite some water damage. It's hard to accurately pinpoint the age of the vehicle, as it looks as if it was only made sometime in the last 30 years…"_

"Twenty, but okay…" Lily said quietly, listening intently, anxious, still curled in her ball and leaning into Lorne for comfort.

_"But the script that adorns the vehicle, however, that's the most interesting part! It's hard to tell whether this vehicle is connected to the strange event that struck Inkopolis nearly three weeks ago - you may remember we mentioned several objects that had fallen from the sky - but some of the characters that appear in places on this vehicle match those on the phone we recovered from that event, __**and**__ from old artifacts recovered from human ruins in the past few years!"_

_"We still haven't heard any word on why this stuff looks so much newer, though. What's up with that, Marina?"_

_"That's venturing back into rumors, but we're chasing it up with persons close to the situation."_

_"Yep! So y'all, if you know a girl in blue named—"_

_"Pearl, we can't do that, there's regulations about that. Folks, we'll keep you updated as—"_

_"They need to know that—"_ Suddenly Pearl went quiet.

_"Whoops~! Guess Pearl's mic is uh, malfunctioning there. She'll be back shortly. Anyway, moving on—"_

_"We'll find you, Lily!"_ Pearl called out, yelling but quiet, distant, as if only caught through Marina's mic.

Marina, for her part, ignored the comment and moved straight along to the next story.

Lily stared up at the ceiling, fear creeping back into her thoughts. Her breathing began to quicken as her mind went wild with thoughts about what was still in store for her.

"Lily?"

They basically told the whole world what she was with that piece, her panicked, overreacting mind told her. They already beat her about, what else were they capable of doing to her? What would _anyone_ do if they caught her? If they knew what she was? If they had heard what those two girls had been saying about her kind?

Violence? Assault? Torture? Murder? An image appeared in her mind of her stripped down and bound. Blood was running down her body. Her blood. A _lot_ of her blood.

"Lily…?"

Maybe it would be better if she just gave up. Let them bleed her out. Cut her to pieces. Slice through her body. _Yes, finally. Finally…_ Let them _destroy_ her. Let them celebrate again. Be safe again. Be _happy_ again. Let her death be something to be joyful for. It had to happen.

Honestly, why even wait for them to find her? Why make them work for it? The kitchen was right there. She could just walk over, open the cutlery drawer and—

"Lily!"

Lorne's hand smacked against her cheek, the impact jolting her back to reality. Lily blinked her eyes several times as she looked around. Lorne was sat up in their bed now, eyeing her nervously. "Whuh? What was that for?"

"You weren't responding to me, and you're starting to hyperventilate…" Lorne reached over and squeezed her hand. "Are you alright? What's going on in that head of yours…?"

Lily looked up at her, noticing her breath was indeed much quicker than it should have been, and her heart-rates too. She forced herself to take slow, deep breaths, wondering what to say to her. _Dare I tell my best friend that I wish I were dead? How would she react…?_

Obviously she couldn't tell Lorne _nothing_ was wrong, she'd never believe that. This was not Lily's first dance with depression, far from it. Nor even her first brush with suicidal thoughts. She'd 'grown into' the self-doubt and hatred and such over the last ten years of her human life, but she'd only ever thought about the idea of a world without her, after making a single attempt.

The thing was, in the past the threats were only in her head. The fact that Pearl had actively made threats to her, and had _nearly made good on them_, was almost too much to cope with.

Lily finally sat up on the bed, and clung to Lorne tightly, burying her head in her friend's shoulder. "I… Lorne… I'm not sure I can cope with all this."

Lorne quietly wrapped her arms around Lily again and held her close, cradling her against her warmth. "Come on, Lily. Talk to me."

Lily looked up at her, and sighed, deciding to just out with it. "I… have never really 'liked' myself, Lorne. Not as a human, anyway. Didn't think much of myself at all…" She paused and sighed, tearing up slightly. "It's.. Been better, since I got here, being so far away from all of the things that used to cause those feelings…"

Lorne nodded, stroking the back of Lily's head as she spoke. "But then yesterday happens and… suddenly it gets way too real, huh?"

Lily nodded her head slowly. "I always sorta just thought, but never acted on the idea, that the world might be better without me, that I was a burden that—"

"You're not, though—"

"I _know_, but… Well, I did know…" Lily pulled away for a moment, and stared into Lorne's eyes, worried. "But I'm just associated with… whoever it was now. Tartar. I _am_ the representative for humanity now, whether I like it or not. And the fact that for his actions, they seem to want me gone, or dead, or something…" She let out a deep sigh, and learned into Lorne again. "I'm starting to agree with them. I've become a problem. Maybe it would be better if—"

Lorne cut her off, leaning in and softly kissing her lips. It was a brief, gentle kiss, the kind of casual kiss you might give regularly to a long-time lover. "Shh."

As Lily sputtered, flustered, her mind racing with questions, and yet wondering if she was reading too far into it… Lorne held her close, speaking softly. "No way. It's better for you, and us, and the _world_, if you keep living, and don't let their hate get you down." The way Lily seemed right now, she was a totally different squid to the one she'd known as of late… She told Lily, "Don't worry about Off the Hook. As Marie said yesterday, when we talk to them, I'll be right there with you. And I'll make sure they know that she has friends that would hate to see her hurt like this again. Just… remember this. You are loved. We love you." She closed her eyes for just a moment, taking a deep breath before staring into Lily's eyes, trying to seem as truthful and genuine as she could muster. "We'll get through this together. OK?"

"…Okay," Lily said quietly, with a blush, unsure how to respond.

Lorne smiled softly at her. "Good. Now c'mon, let's get up and get ready. I wanna try that new café place down the street."

"A coffee of some description _would_ be nice…"

"Great." Lorne slid off of her side of the bed. "Dibs on the first shower!"

* * *

As the girls entered The Deck, the recent addition to the food and coffee industry in the suburb of West Inkopolis, Lily grabbed a table outside while Lorne grabbed their drinks.

_Inkopolis is a strange city_, Lily thought once again as she watched the traffic pass by. She didn't feel like she was too far from the CBD, but the buildings here were less densely packed. There was still plenty of traffic here, especially on this arterial road, but there was plenty of land here dedicated to small parks, or play equipment, or just... nothing. It was nice to see that not every bit of space had to be either traffic or building.

"Whatcha thinkin' there, Lily?" came Lorne's voice as she brought over their drinks, a latte for herself, and a hot chocolate for Lily.

"Thanks, dear," Lily smiled at her, taking a hold of her drink. She gestured to the street. "I'm just thinking again, how nice and aesthetically pleasing the city is. It makes it easier to think about living here than... out in the country."

"Mm." Lorne smiled at her. Lily figured she didn't really know what she meant, but that was okay. She never expected her friends to understand what she meant about her old world. "So, what do you think about this shop?"

Lily thought on it. "The people here seem relatively nice. I like what I saw of their design inside. Having a space outside is nice, I get to watch the world go by."

"Yeah, we should come back more often. I know you're not much of a morning person, but, y'know..."

"I'm not a morning person, but I'm always down for coffee." Lily smiled and took a sip of the hot chocolate. _Mmm~!_ The chocolate was rich, it just needed a little sugar. She took a sugar packet from a cup of packets provided on the table, emptied it into the hot choc, and stirred. A second taste proved it had given her the lovely, sweet taste she craved.

They sat and drank quietly for a bit, and Lily's mind found itself wondering about Lorne's kiss earlier. They were close, she knew, but that was the first time they had had any kiss. She found herself thinking that she liked that... Come to think of it, they'd been really close for a while, hadn't they? Would she be OK with the idea of them being together?

"Hey… Lorne?" Lily shyly, quietly said.

Lorne could see that she was blushing, perhaps had been for a bit. "What's up, Lily?"

"We're… pretty close, right?"

"Wh— I would hope so, you silly thing!" Lorne giggled and sipped at her coffee. "I mean, we share an apartment, I've known you since you arrived… or were re-born, or whatever you wanna call it… We even share our bed, for goodness sake. Is… Is this more of your depression from earlier?"

"N-no, I promise, just…" Lily was quiet for a moment, drinking from her hot chocolate as she debated to herself whether she should say… She didn't want to potentially damage their friendship… relationship? If she said it and her friend took it the wrong way… "Are… Are we… a thing?"

"A… thing?" Lorne was confused for a moment by the generic wording. Her brows furrowed as she thought back on Lily's questions, trying to find the context. Then her eyes widened as she realised what Lily was asking. "Like, a couple?"

Lily's face somehow reddened more as Lorne put the word out there. 'Couple'. It was a nice sounding word… "I, uhm… I don't think we've ever talked about it, but we… This morning kinda… made me realise, the way you were just, there for me… it was like we were always that close, and just… grew… into it the more we understood each other… I'm just, kinda worried that you like me for being human, or having used to be a boy, and I'm not sure I'm either anymo—"

Lily cut off as Lorne's hand brushed against hers on the table. She glanced up into the eyes of her friend, and saw concern and worry in her eyes. Like this morning…

"Lily."

"…Yeah…?"

"Relax. Drink your drink." Lorne smiled warmly at her, taking another sip of her own drink.

The conversation paused while they drank, and Lily felt rather flat, panicking again. _Now I've done it… I shouldn't have said anything, it was only a matter of time before I'm kicked ou-_

"Yeah, I've thought about us as a couple." Lorne suddenly said. Lily's eyes went wide, and she opened her mouth, probably to object on the basis of her being awful or something, but Lorne raised a finger and she kept quiet. The orange squid wasn't done talking. "Yeah, when we first met I… I thought it was incredible that I was friends with a real live human. Why wouldn't I be, right?

"But… It was when I first got back home after retrieving the Great Zapfish…" Lorne took another sip of her drink as she recalled. "I'd splatted so many Octarians without much thought, and took on Octavio, _and_ Callie head on… and yet, that night when I opened the door, and saw you snoozing peacefully in my bed…" She snorted, in disbelief at herself. "I had the warm and fuzzies, but I remember I just… was more nervous than I was battling all of them."

"Nervous?" Lily raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't want to wake you. You were hurting - I remember that was the night you found out you weren't human at all anymore - but you seemed… more relaxed in sleep, maybe happier when I got in that night. I wanted to be close to you. I'm glad I managed to get in without waking you, really. And my… appreciation and love for you just sorta… grew from there…" Lorne blushed as her mind ran back through their interactions. "So… yeah… I've uh, thought about us as a couple. I um… I think if that ever happened, I'd like that."

"Even with… everything that I am?" Lily looked at her, a little awed, mouth ajar.

"Everything that you _were_. We're not out of the woods yet with this human stuff, clearly, but… You've fit in as an Inkling so well. I am comfortable saying that you're one of us, maybe you were destined to be or something." Lorne smiled, pausing for another sip. "But for what you are, and were, that is who I've fallen in love with."

Lily blushed deeper, and shyly twiddled her fingers together. "You're… very well spoken sometimes, Lorne. I… honestly would love to have someone to love." She gave a soft smile, and shyly leaned in a little closer, cheeks burning. "If… if you want to… I would be happy with us… being that."

"Of course!" Lorne laughed, and she pulled Lily's head forward for a kiss, both girls feeling relieved and their burdens much lighter. Lily smiled up at her, and Lorne could see that, at least for now, her sadness and her pain were very far away from her thoughts. _As it should be,_ she thought.

It was after that fleeting moment, when Lily drank the last of her hot chocolate, that she noticed a male/female couple eyeing them and was suddenly aware again of their location, and Lorne laughed as she blushed furiously and buried her head in her arms on the table.

* * *

A lot of the rest of the day was spent in the apartment, celebrating their formalized relationship with... much of the same, but with more cuddling. This _was_ Lily's 'day off', or supposed to be, so they relaxed and watched TV, and Lily either joined in, bathed, or played with her music program.

She'd been inspired over the last month to attempt to put together a mix of music (_human_ music, she reminded herself) to introduce the wealth of old recordings to her friends. Beside her laptop sat the three Squid Sisters' albums she and Lorne had bought to see the other side of their bosses, and Lily was _going_ to find a way to mix a song or two from them in, _somewhere_.

That night saw them laying in bed watching

"Hey... Lorne?" Lily said shyly, sitting on her side of the bed and paused midway through dressing for bed. "Before me, how'd you sleep, clothes-wise?"

"Uhh..." Lorne blushed, glancing over at Lily from behind her, in a loose-fitting white top and plain pink undergarments. She was half-way through putting on a pair of gray sweatpants. "Well, two things. One: Fuck you look so cute right now. Two: I never really changed how I slept. Besides like, hogging the bed and stuff, y'know? Why d'ya ask?"

"Well... Cuz... way back when I had my own bed, y'know... I used to like, undress for bed?" Lily blushed deeply, and let go of the sweatpants. "I just found that more comfortable. And like... I just sorta... I like how being in just this stuff feels and... I was wondering if you would mind if I just slept in this."

"...Nah, I wouldn't mind," Lorne said with a smile. "It'd be a nice view to wake up to." She let her smirk show. "Whatever's most comfortable to you."

With a smile and a blush, Lily nodded. "I never woulda asked if I didn't trust you completely. It's just... hard to ask, y'know? I'm used to just having my own bed, fuck the rules, I'll sleep naked if I want to. I jus—"

"It's _fine_, Lily." Lorne grinned, lifting the blanket for her. "C'mon, get in then. It's cold without you."

"Pff, I know how good this bed is with only one person, thanks." Lily obediently snuggled in, leaving her pants on the ground and snuggling up behind Lorne. "I know I say it often, but... thanks Lorne. For everything you've done for me."

"It's all good, Lily." Lorne turned her head and smiled. "Love ya."

"Love you too." Lily reached over to kiss her again.

"You ready for more Turf War tomorrow?"

"Sure. I got plenty of exercise the last time."

"Heh. Just wait til we get you to level 4, dear. Then you can finally wear something other than that basic tee to the games."

"Can. Not. Wait."

Both girls giggled tiredly, and laid their heads on the pillows. Lily found herself thinking about past relationships. She felt lucky to have Lorne at all - it must have been a one-in-a-million chance that of all the places to end up, she arrived somewhere where she wouldn't have been gawked at like a freak, surrounded by two sweet people who looked after her, _and_ kept her secret to boot.

She wished she could have brought her old friends with her, but it wasn't exactly her decision to come here in the first place.

_That said,_ she thought to herself, _despite all the troubles, moments like this... This is probably the best fate I could have asked for._


	15. Piercing The Fog

* DJ_Hyperfresh has entered the chatroom  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Good morning everyone! Who's awake?  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** …No one? Hm…  
**IAmThree]** Good morning Marina  
**IAmThree]** You're up rather early  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Hi there Three! Speak for yourself.  
**IAmThree]** Time doesn't _really_ matter down here…  
**IAmThree]** But me and Cap are taking shifts watching over the Metro train  
**IAmThree]** There's not a whole lot of light outside the train with power knocked out since the Statue incident, and we don't quite know what else is or isn't running  
**IAmThree]** Or what could escape its confines… ahem, the freaky undead Octarians  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I see… Do try to stay safe though!  
**IAmThree]** We'll do our best  
**IAmThree]** It's been kinda funny, CQ.C hasn't been himself since it all went down. He can't do his testing. Nobody can get into the stations, besides Central.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Huh... Well, keep me informed I guess!  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** My life is… not as interesting. I'm on my way into work to help out some of the techs install stuff.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Did you check out Inkopolis Square when you were up here?  
**IAmThree]** Briefly. Still partial to the Plaza though  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Well, there's a concert stage that we put up above the Deca Tower entrance for the Splatfest, but we want to include a 'crowd cam' for future Splatfest events, and we want to make sure it's placed discreetly so not a lot of people can notice it or block it.

_"Now arriving into: Inkopolis West. This service is now entering the City Loop."_

Marina stared at the laptop screen in front of her as her train paused at another station, on her trip from Pearl's home into the Square. Her chatroom sat delegated to one half of the screen, a document full of notes in the other.

She heard a rapping on the window beside her, surprising her. She turned her head to see what had caused the noise.

It was _Lily_. And her friend. They were both carrying backpacks over their shoulders. They must have been boarding the train and had seen her.

_Oh, right! I guess she does take my train - after all, there was the other time when she met up with Sheldon…_

Lily seemed to sigh. Then she pointed at Marina toward the back of the train, and started to walk off.

Marina stared after her, then, remembering the chatroom, shot off a quick message to Three, shoved the laptop into her bag, and walked over to the door into the carriage.

**DJ_Hyperfresh]** One sec - Lily is getting on my train.

Marina met the two girls as they had got on and were headed back through the next carriage. Lily eyed her as they kept moving. "The rear carriage was empty. We'll be down there if you want us."

She stared after the girls as they moved on, considering the offer. _Were… Did they want to chat?_

Taking her seat again briefly, she whipped out the laptop again and checked the chat.

**IAmThree]** Uh oh  
**IAmThree]** Are you alright, Marina?  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I'm fine - I… think she and her friend want to talk to me about something.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Considering Pearl called her out on our Sunday broadcast I'm guessing it's to do with that… but who knows…  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I'm going to go and talk with them - sounds like they found an empty carriage on this train we can talk openly in. Don't worry if I don't respond - I will probably be engaged for a while. I'll check back in when it's over.  
**IAmThree]** Alright. Be careful…  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Will do. I'll just go message Pearl to get on here first.

The laptop went away and, before she stood up to go see what the girls wanted, she pulled her phone from her pocket and went into her text messages. She knew Pearl would be awake by now - she would be making breakfast. She typed out a quick message. _'Hey - Lily on my train - wants to talk - get in chatroom, will update everyone there.'_

Then she opened the voice recorder and started recording, moved the phone to another pocket on her jacket, then stood up, making sure she had everything, and made her way down toward the back of the train.

* * *

Marina stepped into the rear carriage of the train, cautious. As they had said, as the train trundled along, this one was near empty.

Except for two people.

They were sat in the far corner of the train, on a four-seater cube. The both of them were in one side, Lily looking over her friend's shoulder at her phone.

_Oh, right… we still have her phones back at our place... Better message Pearl to bring them in later…_

She approached them carefully, and took her seat opposite them, legs spread outward, and leaning forward, elbows resting on her thighs, hands clasped together. "So," she said with a sigh. "Is this about the broadcast on Sunday?"

Lily glanced at her, and sat up. "Well, it's about… everything, but yeah, let's start with that."

"Listen, I wanted to avoid starting any more—"

"I know," her friend replied, putting her phone away. "Even if Lily did… freak out over being named at the time…"

"That's putting it mildly," Lily mumbled.

"She would at least agree with me that you were doing what you could to avoid getting people on a witch hunt for her. I get the impression that you're softening on her. That's why we're approaching you and not Pearl. We feel like you'd listen to what we have to say."

"So here's our deal." Lily sat forward. "This is all off the record. I don't need a profile piece. I need information. Context. But, in exchange, let's organise to meet up somewhere and… we'll answer as much as we can about… me. I don't want to be the enemy, Marina."

Marina sat back, in thought. "Why? After everything that's already happened, why now?"

"Two reasons." Lily held up two digits to emphasize. "One: As just mentioned. I don't want to be your enemy. I don't want to be _anyone's_ enemy. I grew up with the mindset 'treat others how you would want to be treated'. Life's too short to worry about hating anyone I interact with, or would want to interact with. So I just would feel better about myself if I managed to at least get ourselves to the point of being, I dunno, friendly acquaintances." She sighed, and thought for a moment. "Or, even if we never spoke again, it would just be nice if life got back to a point where I didn't have to fear for mine."

Marina nodded slowly. "Mm. And the second reason?"

Lily took a deep breath. This was the important one for her, Marina assumed. "There are two things that have kept being brought up since the Hotel, and I still haven't heard anyone explain to me what they are. I've been associated with someone or something, and I don't know why."

Marina nodded again, understanding. "You want to know about Commander Tartar."

Lily blinked. "_Commander_? …Yes, I want to know about them."

The Octoling girl took a few breaths as she worked out how to best explain. She reached for her bag and pulled out the laptop, keeping its screen turned toward her. Pretending to look up notes, she checked on the chatroom. She sent a quick message, seeing Pearl had joined: 'Still talking, will check in soon - but Pearl make sure you bring the phones in today!'

Looking up from her screen, she finally spoke. "Well… Tartar… He is… _Was…_ an AI created by humans before they went extinct. I guess he was built by some group called NILS, he mentioned them a lot. His... supposed goal was to pass on humanity's knowledge to the next true sapient species, or something like that."

"Seems noble enough so far. Up until I left, we were always fascinated with the idea of intelligent life somewhere out there in the universe."

"Did you discover any?"

"Not that I know of, sadly."

"Well, Tartar did not end up being… quite so thrilled with us." She sighed, recalling all the video calls and chats from the past two months. "He posed as this… guide, of sorts. 'Just bring me the four Thangs, and I can show you the promised land', he said. That required Eight going through all sorts of—"

"'Eight'?" Lily's friend's brow furrowed, and the two Inklings exchanged glances. "Who's 'Eight'?"

"Huh? Oh— uh… The... The boy you've probably seen around us lately. Lily would know him. That's uh... our... nickname for him..."

Lily grumbled a quiet '_yeah, I know 'im_'. Marina glanced away, out the window. "Sorry. But, yes… Then he revealed his true colours, tried to _blend up our friends -_ good thing Agent 3 broke them out - and then he—"

"Agent 3?!" Lorne shouted. "Hang on a sec! Like, 'New Squidbeak Splatoon' Agent 3?!"

"Quiet!" Marina hissed, and looked around to make sure anyone that might have entered the carriage hadn't heard, but their carriage was still empty. "I'm only telling you because it's important you know all the deta—" The Octoling froze. _Hang on a second…_ Her brows furrowed suspiciously. "How… do you know about the _New_ Squidbeak Splatoon?"

Lily bit her lip. _Uh oh... We've been caught._ She looked over at her friend, concerned, awaiting a convincing fake explanation.

The other Inkling paused, considering her options, then deliberately reached for her bag, turned to Lily, and nodded, before opening the pack and reaching inside.

"What? Here? _Now?!_"

"May as well," came her friend's reply. Lily just stared for a moment, then nodded back and reached for her own bag.

"Uh— hang on—" Marina was worried now. Had she stepped too far? What were these girls going to do to—

Both girls pulled an item from their packs. The same item.

They both held a pair of headphones, that wrapped around the back of the head. The conical earpieces glittered and pulsed with digital light patterns.

_They were the same headphones Agent 3 wore,_ Marina realised.

Then a further realisation struck her, and her eyes went wide: _But that must mean they're—_

The headphones went back in their bags, and the bags went back on the floor.

"Oh, fuck," Marina mouthed, not meaning to say it aloud. "I, uhm, I'm—"

"I'm Agent Four," Lorne said, gesturing to herself, her face more serious. Then, pointing at Lily, she simply said, "She's Five." She leaned forward. "How do _you_ know about them?"

"We, uh..." Marina stuttered lightly, still mentally processing what she had just been shown. "We... Me and Pearl stumbled upon them. We discovered Captain Cuttlefish and Agent 3's distress signal a few months ago. They were stuck underground, and... me and Pearl helped them out. We've… been in contact since."

With a grim smile Lorne noted to Lily, "So that's where they went." Glancing at Marina, she said, more seriously, "Does that mean your 'Eight' is…?"

Marina sighed. "…Yes. Agent 8."

Lily nodded, and sighed deeply, remembering the sewer encounter. "Well, that's gonna be a problem for me. But alright. So, your... _our_ friends nearly got blended."

"Huh? Oh, right…" Pretending to consult notes again, Marina shot off a quick message to the chatroom: '_Is anyone awake that can confirm the existence of an Agent 4 or 5?_' Hitting the send button, she straightened up. "Anyway, yeah, Tartar revealed his true colors, went on some monologue - I remember the gist being that neither Inklings or Octolings were 'worthy' species because we, err, we fought over little things - like, the splatfests and things - and also something about our taste in fashion? And then-"

"Oh, that's _rich._" Lily laughed, thinking it absurd.

"Lily…?" Lorne was looking at her with an odd expression.

"We are guilty of the exact same shit!" Lily pointed at herself. "We've _done_ that! He's a fuckin' hypocrite!"

"...Pardon?" Lorne looked at her quizzically, concerned. Marina had a similar look.

"I'm not going to tell you that humans as a whole were great people," Lily said. "They had a capacity for greatness and kindness, just like you. In fact just about all of the people I miss from my world, had the well-being of their friends and even strangers in mind in day to day life." She paused, adding as an afterthought, "Probably exaggerating a bit."

After a moment to take a breath, she continued: "But humans as a species, holy shit... we hated each other for anything you could think of. The color of the skin, the people we loved, the cause we believed in, the clothes we wore, just… anything."

"This is sounding familiar," Marina realised. "He was going to wipe us out for that very problem."

"Again, he would have known. We fought, we killed. We destroyed entire cultures, species and civilizations just so we didn't have to change our own ways. It was easier to make the rich richer than to save the lives of millions. We have no place in the world of today. We do deserve to be extinct."

Marina stared at her for a moment. "I... guess you've got a bit of a bone to pick with humans, huh?"

Lily sighed, and threw her hands up. "Yeah... but I'm sorry, I really shouldn't be going off on a tirade. You were saying...?"

"Man... well, there's not that much else to tell." Marina adjusted herself in her seat, glancing at her notes again. "Oh, okay... he... very nearly fired this beam that would have destroyed Inkopolis and… made us all extinct. We only _barely_ stopped him, thanks to Pearl..." She said the last part quietly, looking down.

"…I see…" Lily thought deeply, leaning forward, face half-buried in her hands. "So then… everything you guys had been saying is true. And then I come along, wrong place wrong time… I… get it. Fuck, man…"

Lorne leaned over to her, resting an arm around her shoulders.

The three girls were silent for a few minutes as the train got closer to the Square, passing through dark underground tunnels as it circled the City Loop.

Lily finally looked up. "Where... is he now? Is he... dead...?"

"He's...not, but... he's separated from the facility that gave him that power. There's a spot in the forests outside Inkopolis that we chose to leave him. He's not a threat anymore."

"That's... generous, after what you've just told us," Lorne pointed out with a raised eyebrow.

"Mmm. We considered it but... honestly, Three brought up the idea. Why not force him to keep on living in our world, if he hates it so much." She snorted, smirking slightly, and Lily allowed a dark smile and nod.

The carriage fell into silence again. Marina thought back over the conversation that had just happened. "So... you really didn't know about Tartar _or_ NILS then."

Lily sighed, and shook her head. "I told you. But y'all were set on this weird... revenge thing."

"Lily, please... understand how we saw all this happening. These things fall from the sky. We start seeing you, _with_ these things that nobody else can read. Then Tartar reveals himself, with a human statue, and created by some professor at least 12,000 years ago when humans died out. Then, well, that stuff at the hotel happe— Lily?"

Lily's hands were over her mouth, and her gaze dropped down to the ground.

_Twelve thousand years. At least._

_At __**least**__._

The train's PA announced that it was pulling into Inkopolis Square, putting a halt to their conversation, and the three of them stood and made their way to the doors, Lily walking slowly, deep in thought.

"I guess we'll have to continue this another time," Marina said as they waited for the train to stop. "Lily, Pearl is bringing in your phones today. Come by the studio later when you're done doing..." she eyed the girls' backpacks. "Whatever you're doing, and we'll hand them over.'

Lily nodded, bringing herself back to the present, having been distracted by her thoughts. "I... guess I can pass on some contact details then so we can organise this meeting."

The doors opened, and the three of them disembarked, heading towards the exit from the underground station that would lead them into the Square proper.

They reached the studio door, and Marina turned toward it. "Well uh… I guess… I'll see you two around, huh?"

Lorne sighed and glanced between her and Lily. "Yeah, guess you will. We're keeping quiet about this, yeah?"

Marina nodded. "I can keep a secret. Though you do realise, I will have to inform Pearl, Cra— the Captain, and Three that we met."

"…Yeah, I realise. It's probably better they know we at least made contact."

Marina nodded, and the three stood awkwardly for a few moments. Then finally, Marina turned toward the door again, and unlocked it, making to step inside. "Well… see you soon, then."

"See you, Marina," Lily said with a nod. "I'm glad we got the chance to talk." But as soon as Marina had stepped inside and shut the door, Lily doubled over, hands over her mouth. "Jesus Christ, twelve thousand fucking years... Fuuuuck..."

* * *

Somewhere off the coast, hundreds of meters below sea level, on a different train, two Inklings sat in a quiet carriage, their only companion at the moment a friendly, sleeping isopod. The lights in the carriage were dimmed as the simulated day cycle had not flicked over to being 'day' yet. As such, only one of the passengers were awake.

One of the inklings, a boy with long, green hair, regarded his surroundings once again as he waited for his phone to ping once more. His mantle was detached and was draped over his front as a makeshift blanket, covering a hi-vis vest. His clothing was odd for down here - then again, Inklings down here were very uncommon - but it wasn't the first thing that jumped out at people that met him down here.

For after an incident not too long ago, his right eye's iris and the skin around it was permanently stained a green-ish blue, contrasting against his regular creamy skin colour. It was an unsightly splotch of colour on an otherwise calm, matured face.

**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Hello everyone, I'm back! I just got into the studio.  
**MC_Princess]** THERE YOU ARE  
**MC_Princess]** Was starting to get concerned they'd abducted you or something

The Inkling's phone buzzed as Marina rejoined the chat. Time to find out what was going on.

**IAmThree]** Welcome back  
**IAmThree]** One sec, gotta get the Captain in here

Agent 3 stood, stretching his legs and flexing them as he made his way over to the sleeping, elderly Inkling. This one was in a green tracksuit with white stripes down the sides, and he slept peacefully on the bench opposite his agent's. Agent 3 knelt down beside him and rested a hand on his shoulder, gently shaking him. "Good Morning again, sir. Marina's just returned from her talk with the human."

Craig Cuttlefish grumbled and groaned as he stirred from his nap. "And? Why can't you fill me in when I've gotten some proper sleep?"

"I'm making this assumption based on context but... it sounded like her and her friend were hired as Agents Four and Five. I figured you would have some questions."

One of Craig's eyes opened and examined Three. His expression told him he wasn't kidding...With a sigh and a grumble of "What are my granddaughters up to up there..." he sat up and stretched, reaching for his phone. "Alright Three, let's see what's good."

* CraigCuttlefish has joined the chatroom  
**IAmThree]** There we go  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Alright then. So…  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I'll just tell the story again for Pearlie and Craig.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I've been on my train in to work  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I'm there earlier than usual since the tech crew is installing a crowd cam for the Splatfest events and I volunteered to help. Got to setup a discreet mount to catch as much of the Square as we can.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Anyway, Lily and her friend are heading in at the same time, see me on the train and invite me to chat.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Hooo boy. I learned two important points from that conversation.  
**CraigCuttlefish]** is what 3 is telling me about a 4 and 5 true  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I… was hoping you would confirm that for me. I only have their word.  
**CraigCuttlefish]** i'll get on that  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Though I did see they had headphones like 3 does.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** You do keep files on your agents too, yeah?  
**MC_Princess]** Hang on what  
**MC_Princess]** Like agents 4 and 5? What are you talking about  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Well I wanna make sure it's real before I just start saying it as fact.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** In the meantime, the other thing was that I can now confirm that Lily had no knowledge of Tartar or his work, nor was involved.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Though it's possible she might have still been manipulated without her or our knowledge…

"Well I'll be…"

Three looked up from his phone. "Is it true?"

Craig glanced at him, frowning. "Seems to be. I created a file on the human a while back for One and Two to keep an eye out, but, yes, they seem to have updated it recently with an 'Agent 5' designation and created their own file for an Agent 4. One second and I'll post her file up. Might need to redact some things."

"Wow. Alright then. While you do that, brief me real quick on Four."

**IAmThree]** Well that sounds good at least  
**IAmThree]** I'd still like to have words with her about my eye though  
**MC_Princess]** …Not really on his side? That still seems hard to believe  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I know, but, the discussion we had has led me to that conclusion.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** What she's been _doing_, I don't know yet, but we'll be planning a proper meeting to talk properly soon.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** One that I'll make sure you're part of, Pearl. She promised us that under agreement that we don't mention her on the news anymore  
**MC_Princess]** Awww but…  
**IAmThree]** FYI - Cap's just confirmed the info, he'll be posting up Lily's file shortly, Agents 1 and 2 seem to have updated it  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Well then…  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Alright. MC_Princess: Lily and her friend were just confirmed for being Agents 4 and 5.  
**MC_Princess]** ...  
**MC_Princess]** ARE YOU SQUIDDING ME  
**MC_Princess]** Even if she wasn't involved with that dumb telephone, what could she be doing for you guys?  
**IAmThree]** Should say in the file he's preparing, but this friend - Agent 4 - recently recovered the Great Zapfish from DJ Octavio and rescued Callie, apparently…  
**IAmThree]** Sounds familiar…  
**MC_Princess]** Wait huh? I thought Zappy just… took a break  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** That lines up, Three. We reported on both their disappearances a couple weeks ago  
**IAmThree]** Oh so that _did_ happen again? Wow  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Yeah... Octavio, huh? I thought after the last time, he'd've figured not to steal a major power source from a species that could fight back…  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** And that _would_ explain the comment I got from Marie a few days back if he was recently acti—  
**MC_Princess]** …Marina?  
**MC_Princess]** MARINA YO ARE YOU OKAY  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I'm fine, Pearlie!  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** …Hey Caaaaap…  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Are your granddaughters… involved in your operation at all…?  
**CraigCuttlefish]** this is Lily, the human girl

_Lily ?_

_New Squidbeak Splatoon Agent 5_  
_Ex-Human_

_**CLASSIFIED**_

_**Current Assignment:** artifact retrieval (combat training)_

_Unknown method of arrival (Time travel?)_

_Possible connection to Commander Tartar, both became active at the same time_

_Possibly seeks to complete Tartar's goal of worldwide elimination? (definitely not ~2)_

_Connection to Sheldon (Ammo Knights) and at least one inkling (A1 comment: Agent 4)_

_Age 26 before arrival_

_Originally a human male, underwent transformation to inkling female after ink immersion. Almost identical to Agent 4 as a result_

_Is unaware of how transportation happened, seems to be a real human from at least 12,000 years ago_

_Pre-inkling life: cleaner, food production worker, mashup artist, computer/music enthusiast_

_Currently sharing residence with Agent 4_

**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Yep, that's her…  
**CraigCuttlefish]** DJ_Hyperfresh yes. 1 and 2  
**MC_Princess]** 'age 26' Wow what an old fart  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I wonder if human years are different to our years, like otherwise they'd be eight years older than me and they don't... seem it, mentally.  
**MC_Princess]** 'Originally a human male' OH MY COD THAT EXPLAINS A BIT? I always wondered why she seemed to carry herself differently to other girls  
**MC_Princess]** I mean, even before the human discovery  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** That's certainly an… interesting point. So not just changing species, but changing gender too?  
**IAmThree]** 'Artifact retrieval' huh? What's that involve…  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Oh I think I know, actually! About the time she started showing up, this weird shower of… things happened across Inkopolis and beyond, including a phone right through our window, and that car.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** And we saw her get the phone, and she was around the car when it got brought down… it would make sense if she was going around collecting everything.  
**MC_Princess]** So hey is everything she's collecting _her_ things or just _human_ things?  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I haven't figured that out for sure yet, but I'm guessing it's all hers.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I mean, maybe she's collecting all that stuff just as her mission, but she seemed at least pretty invested in that phone and the laptop. And the car...  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** ...Hey, one of us is gonna need to tell Agent 8...

"Agent 3?"

"Yessir?" Three looked up from the phone, hand now resting over his mouth, in thought.

"Schedule us a stop at the Central Station. I think we will need to head back up to the surface and get to the bottom of this ourselves."

Three blinked. "As… as you wish, sir." He pulled out an odd remote-looking device from a pocket on the hi-vis jacket, and clicked in the analog stick on it. "We testing your theory today?"

"We sure are. Let's see if there's any merit to it."

A screen materialized in front of him, with a complete map of the Metro facility open. This isn't what Three wanted though, so he clicked onto the next tab, where the train lines were visible. His cursor moved over to the point in the middle of the map, the Central Station, and clicked on it. It pinged, and an ETA indicator arrived. One hour to wait, to get from the outer edges of the map where the train was currently moving, back to the central line. Three could deal with that.

The only issue was, the path they had taken through the NILS Statue to get back to the Metro was one they could not use anymore. The main elevator into the depths of the statue had been destroyed by Pearl's Killer Wail a week ago, and while they had been able to descend with climbing rope, it had been carefully hung from Off the Hook's heli and then retrieved. But the Captain suspected there may be another way back to civilization, and his suspicion was about the abandoned station where he and Agent 8 had awoken. What lay beyond...?

**CraigCuttlefish]** we're coming up  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Up...?  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Wait, up? To the surface? Now?!  
**IAmThree]** Cap's decided this situation needs his personal intervention  
**IAmThree]** I mean it'll be a while to get 'up' anywhere, we won't be able to get back up the statue way but we're hoping there'll be another way up somewhere in the Metro itself  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Oh… okay. Just, uh, keep us informed I guess, and please give us plenty of warning if you need us to pick you up!  
**MC_Princess]** Statue's a no-go then?  
**IAmThree]** Too tough to organise any kind of rope ascent, elevator's gone, no super jump points  
**IAmThree]** The final ladder to the surface is still there, but that's... kind of it in terms of climbing.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I don't know if this means much, Three, but if you can't find anything... there's an Octarian story about a town that was sealed off after something breached its cave's walls... due to the residents being killed or abducted and turned 'evil'.  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** I know it sounds weird, but if it's real, through a certain interpretation I could see that being something to do with the undead Octarians, hence the Metro broke into Octopia somewhere...  
**IAmThree]** Hmm... Worth a thought  
**IAmThree]** I suppose if we can find something like that, it would be _a_ way to get home, a very roundabout one but...  
**IAmThree]** We'll keep in touch  
**DJ_Hyperfresh]** Sure. Stay safe Three, Cap!

The Deepsea Metro train continued speeding along, slowly calculating its route towards Central Station.


	16. Metal Bork

The sun was still low over the horizon as Lily and Lorne arrived in Octo Canyon, ready to begin their training. The air was cool was it brushed through the Hideout, and Lily shivered. She couldn't wait to get into that hoodie, and she set her backpack down, kneeling before it to retrieve the gear.

Lorne chuckled. "Hey, this'll be the first time you put the gear on, right? I'm excited for you!" With a grin, she rested a hand on Lily's shoulder as she carefully removed the headset, hoodie, boots and Hero Shot, staring at them in awe.

The gear was a gift from Callie. She had argued to her (in private) that Marie should have granted them to her at the beginning, but, hey, better late than never, right?

As she set the clothing down on the bench and begin to remove her civilian gear, Lorne started to move ahead of her. "Hey, where are you headed?" Lily called after her as she sat down next to the pile of gear and began untying her shoes.

"Prepping your training! Get the headset on - I'll ping you to go to Beaker's in a bit!" Agent 4 descended the ramp past the stone archway and was gone.

Lily watched her leave, then put her head down and quietly thought.

_Twelve thousand years._

_Twelve thousand years humans had been extinct._

_Twelve thousand years, at least, that I've been gone._

It wasn't like she didn't know she was the last human - she had assumed that as soon as she'd stepped into Inkopolis for the first time. But it was the number that put things in perspective.

_Twelve thousand years._

If it was something like three million years, it just wouldn't have the same impact. But most recorded human history had happened within a three thousand year period. These creatures had had plenty of time since human extinction to evolve themselves and their culture.

_Maybe_, she thought to herself, _this is why it's important I grab this stuff._

_It's not just about making sure it doesn't fall into the wrong hands anymore._

_This stuff needs to be preserved. My _knowledge_ needs to be preserved._

She sighed, and pulled the Hero Headset from the neat pile of gear next to her. She examined it, watching the patterns of the pulsing earpieces, but thinking of home. Thinking of the friends she missed. Thinking of her previous life, almost a distant memory.

Lyrics from an old song formed in her mind. Without thinking, 'knowing' she was alone, she let the words come out:

"I could never find the right way to tell you  
Have you noticed I've been gone?  
Because I left behind the home that you made me  
But I will carry i—"

"Oy. Human. You right over there?"

Lily's eyes snapped up, glancing around frantically for the source of the voice. She pulled on the headset and grabbed the Hero Shot from the pile of gear and stood.

The voice had come from just to the left of her, in the formerly-empty space behind the grate back to the Square.

A mass of tentacles sat beneath a bulbous head with bulging eyes, making their owner look perpetually angry, even as they eyed her. Atop the creature's head was a very ornate, almost ceremonial headwear.

This creature sat in an octopus-sized snowglobe, taller than she was.

The two watched each other in silence. As Lily watched, Octavio shifted, 'sat up' in his globe, taking interest.

Lily slowly, cautiously approached the globe, weapon up. From inside the globe, he didn't seem to be able to touch her, despite its condition. "I'm fine. And just what makes you think I'm human? They're extinct. Or did you not get the memo?"

The octopus thing scoffed. Lily noticed she couldn't see the thing's mouth behind its 'moustache'. "Fine. 'Formerly human'. You match the description my scouts gave. 'Long hair, smaller frame, clueless'... About the only thing you're missing is 'buck naked'... unless you want to fix that for me?" Lily could just _feel_ the guy's smirk.

"Fuck off." Lily turned and headed back to the bench to pull on the hoodie over her shirt. "I'm not having any of it right now."

She kicked off her Cream Basics, pulling the Hero Boots on carefully and ignoring the octopus in the globe as it watched her. The boots seemed... a bit much. Lily wasn't sure what to make of it. There was more shoe here than seemed necessary, or fashionable! Maybe the extra stuff was armor?

She made sure that the boots fit her carefully, then placed them neatly in her backpack. As she did, something clicked in her head about what the creature had said to her.

If these 'scouts' had said she was nude, then they had to have been the same ones that had attacked her at the Hideout when she was but a newly-turned, clueless Inkling.

And if _that_ was the case, Callie had said at Agent 4's debriefing that they had been sent by...

Lily turned around, geared up, looking the part of an Agent. "So. You're the Octavio I've been hearing about. Been having fun in there?".

The octopus rolled his eyes at her. "Clearly. All alone, trapped in this confined space for days on end? I'm having the time of my _life _here. I'd have at least expected your friend to come and gloat. You both look quite alike, you know."

"We've been busy." Lily watched him carefully, noticing out of the corner of her eyes that her tentacles had shifted from its usual blue and had taken on an olive-ish tinge. _Huh, I didn't realise it would do that... I guess it masks my identity a bit..._ "Nothing you should worry about."

"You can't get home, can you, human?" Octavio tutted, trying to fake 'worried concern' and failing. "If only you had just let my scouts bring you to me, you'd be much happier. You wouldn't need to pretend to be someone else. Our scientists would be much closer to solving your conundrum."

"Who says I want to go back? Who says I am trying to be someone else?" Lily frowned, and checked the headset to make sure it was still on.

"I mean, really, who would _willingly_ want to hide behind the facade of an _Inkling_ of all things?"

"You say that like I have a choice in the matter."

"So you don't deny you're human?" Octavio's smirk had returned and taken on a smug quality.

Lily sighed. She knew he knew. "_Formerly_, to use your words. That was my previous life."

"I'm just saying, you could be more than you are, even now. I can tell you have so much untapped power within you. I could help you realise that potential, human." Octavio still had that sort of 'smirk' vibe about him, but his tone had become more serious.

"Funny. Thinking I have any sort of potential."

"So the confidence could use a touch-up too. Trust me," the octopus said to her, easing himself against the glass, eyes focused right on her. "Free me from this prison, and I will show you your true potential. I will guide you, and you will be a force to be reckoned with."

"Sorry, I never let out on the first date." She chuckled at her own dumb play on words, as a series of beeps played on the headset. "One sec," she said to Octavio as she keyed the mic button. "This is Agent 5, come in."

"Oh, don't be so formal!" Lorne's voice came in over the headset. "It's just you and me out here."

"And an octopus you never told me about," Lily added, eyeing him.

"Wha— Oh! Did I not— Gah, sorry, Lily… Yeah, that's DJ Octavio, we've been holding him since Callie and the Great Zapfish were rescued. I hope he's not been giving you too much grief…"

"Eh… He's trying to convince me to break him out. Keyword 'trying'."

"Heh, right… Well, anyway, your training is all setup here. Just had to calm your training partner, since Callie isn't here yet."

"Eh? Training partner?"

"Just get over here and I'll show you! Remember, Beaker's Depot, and then head for the boss kettle."

"Wait— Your idea of training is putting me up against a—?!" She cut herself off, realising she probably shouldn't divulge too much to the guy just in front of her. "Are you crazy?"

"Don't worry, he won't be too rough on you. He agreed to that."

"I'm not convinced…"

"C'moooon. There's a kiss in it for you if you meet me there…"

Lily sighed. "Damn you… I'm on my way."

"Good girl. See you shortly." With a click, the voice of Agent 4 was gone.

Lily sighed, and laughed softly to herself. Oh, how things are changing quickly between us.. "Looks like I'm headed out," she said to Octavio. "I'll be seeing you around, 'DJ' Octavio."

"You'd better," Octavio grumbled, pretending to be upset. "It's so boring without company."

"Noted." She turned, and started to make her way toward the archway. Without looking, she waved at him with her free hand. "See you soon."

* * *

The kettle was in sight almost as soon as Lily had arrived.

First though, Lily had to cross Beaker's Depot. And unlike the Hideout and Lookout before it, the Depot was not one cohesive platform. It was a series of separated platforms of different shapes and lengths, and it was not immediately certain just how one would get from place to place.

A glowing bulb fixed onto the edge of the platform just ahead of her caught her attention. Curiously, Lily leaned down and tapped it. Nothing seemed to happen at first, but when she tried firing at it with her new Hero Shot, the bulb lit up completely and a... line of wire and ink? emerged from it, curving and twisting around a smaller platform.

She realised she would have to use this rail to get across, and sighed deeply.

Agent 5 stepped up to the edge carefully, biting her lip as she couldn't help but look past the inkrail at the potential drop if she couldn't hold her balance.

Looking just ahead, she noticed that the next platform was not too far away. She wasn't too sure if she could hold her balance around those turns, so perhaps a leap from the straight part of the rail would get her where she needed to go? Sure, it was still a little bit of a drop... She'd not have to worry about leaning into the turns...

"A...alright. Here goes..." She stepped up to the railing. Ink seemed to be propelled forward throughout the rail, so she supposed as long as she kept her balance, she wouldn't have to worry about her own momentum.

She took a deep breath, stepped up onto the bulb projecting the ink... and then did a tiny hop, and landed with both boots on the railing.

Agent 5 was immediately propelled forward under the power of the ink, and she nearly toppled over just from the unexpected force. She stuck her arms out to keep steady, but already the turn (and the point at which she'd have to leap off) was coming up fast.

She leapt from the rail just as it began to turn and fell toward the main platform, frightened and screaming, arms and legs wheeling about in the air.

She crashed onto the ground inelegantly, but who cared? She'd made it. She let herself lay there for a moment, then got onto her feet, and spent a moment to calm herself.

On the other side of the platform, she saw two more gaps between her and her destination.

This time, instead of a railing, a hovering bulb led the way. Once again, Five shot at it carefully, but this time, as the ink connected with the bulb, she found herself pulled toward it, and panicked. But as quickly as she had been pulled, the Grapplink had dropped her neatly beneath it, on the next platform, where Lily could already see another rail bulb.

The next obstacle she faced was the last, but was also the meanest. A long rail sped around and around the next platform, which Lily could see held the big kettle that the Hideout and Lookout had had.

Lily say for a while, thinking about how she could possibly get to that Kettle.

A part of her mind chimed in, _see those two Grapplinks above the kettle platform?_

She looked up. Indeed, there they were. One on the side to her left, and one on the right.

"Oh, hell..." Lily's face dropped. She was going to have to get on the rail, and fire at the Grapplink _from_ the rail.

She took a few deep breaths and looked over the rail's path. The path acted like a rounded square, plenty of straight sections that curved around the platform. It also raised slightly, so that it could make another pass around the Boss kettle platform, before finally breaking away and returning to another part of the main platform.

_OK, so, if I can at least keep my balance, if I can't get a shot on the grapple thing, I'll at least be put back on solid ground…_

Lily stepped up to the beginning of the rail, nervous… Well, she wasn't going to even get to the training unless she tried. Surely Lorne knew this was simple, right…? She wouldn't put her through this if she didn't know Lily could get there?

Lily stepped onto the rail, and was immediately whisked along.

Once again she immediately focused on balancing herself, letting herself center herself on the gentle slope that led into the main portion of the rail. _Just don't look down_, she reminded herself.

She had made it to the first straight. Lily made sure her weapon was ready, but kept her focus on staying upright as she slid along the rails. The first Grapplink passed by her. _That's okay, I'll come back to it…_

The first turn nearly through her off completely, and she had to force herself to lean into the turn, briefly tipping herself forward into empty space as she hit the apex of the turn, and tipped back as she exited the turn. She frantically stabilised herself, glad she had at least made the first turn. She'd just have to do that a couple more times if she missed her shots…

She was already coming up to the next turn, and a shot at the next Grapplink. Briefly, before the turn, she tried to get her hands in front of her, holding her Hero Shot out. Leaning back slightly, it seemed like it might work…

But she leaned forward again as she was thrown into the next turn, and came back up ready.

Keeping as steady as she could, she aimed her Hero Shot up high, and fired a spray of ink above her, hoping that any of it would hit the Grapplink.

The first few shots didn't, and the force and pushback from the weapon was not something she had accounted for.

She began to tip backwards.

Thankfully, though, one shot of ink did make its mark, and with a flash, Lily was pulled forward, from the railing.

Lily dropped onto solid ground, and she collapsed onto her knees, shaking.

She'd made it.

She crawled slowly up to the boss kettle's grate, looking inside. No way to see what awaited her.

With a sigh, and a hope that Lorne and whoever was her training partner would go easy on her, she transformed and let herself fall inside.

* * *

"Hey, you made it!" Lorne called from the center of the arena as she arrived. "Holster your weapons and come on over, Five!"

She was standing with an absolutely massive... sentient box, as far as Lily could tell. Its comical face was contorted in a kind of worry as Lily had arrived.

Four grinned and waved at Lily after she had super-jumped into the arena. As Lily walked up to it cautiously, she nonchalantly noted, "Five, Octostomp here will be your training buddy."

"W-what?!" Lily looked positively mortified. She stared up at the giant face of 'Octostomp' and bit her lip. She had a fairly good idea of why it might have been called that... "How'd you organise this?!"

"Well, I couldn't have done it without Callie, actually. She came up with the idea. Turns out these guys still really like her. Now, don't worry. He's gonna play as nice as he can! Callie and I have made sure of it."

"…Are you kidding?"

"Trust me, Lily. Basically, when you're ready, he'll rush at you and try to squish you. Oh, don't fret!" She noticed the look on Lily's face at the word 'squish'. "He won't actually. I wouldn't let him. That's why there's a bit less panelling on his front than normal. Anyway, if you can get out of the way, that's when you can climb his sides and get on top!

"Now, if you were against someone who *really* wanted to do you in, each of the creatures in these boss kettles are controlled by a main tentacle. You'd bust that a few times, and they'd go down. For your training, instead since Stompy's in on this and we're gonna play nice with him too, I want you to... hmm. Oh, I know! When you get up there, give the tentacle a big ol' hug!"

"Is... is he down for that?" Lily glanced up at the big guy's face, and he seemed to be smiling widely. "I think he might be?"

"Yeah he's down!" Lorne chuckled. "In fact, why don't you hug him right now? You've climbed walls with your ink before, right? Just climb up on his back!"

"Eh...?"

"Stand back, Five." Lorne backed away, standing clear of Octostomp, and Lily did the same, her eyes flicking back and forth between the giant octo machine and her fellow Agent.

Once the girls were a safe distance, Agent 4 called over, "Alright, Stompy! I hope you trust us! Lily's gonna come up and give you a hug, alright?"

Octostomp watched her carefully, and his eyes examined the ground in front of him.

Then he closed his eyes, and after a few long seconds, his massive body began to tip forward.

The noise he made when his metal front panelling slammed against the concrete platform was immense close-up. Lily cursed loudly and jumped back further, not expecting it.

"Alright, Lily!" Four called. "I mean, Five! Oh, whatever. Ink up the side of him and get on his back and go give him that hug!"

Lily nodded nervously. She ran around to Octostomp's side, seeing all his panelling was intact, and carefully used her Hero Shot to create a path straight up his side. She leapt into it, changing as she did, and swam up through it in her squid form, quickly arriving atop his back.

Lily stepped carefully, wondering if the creature knew she was up here, wondering if he could feel her. She quickly saw the tentacle that Lorne had mentioned - it was the only feature on his otherwise featureless back. It was large, its suction cups along its outside. It wriggled slowly, knowing it was defenseless. _Wow, he must really trust those two a lot to even let me do this..._

She slowly approached the tentacle, slightly in awe of its size.

And carefully, slowly, she placed her hand upon it.

She felt it freeze and tense up. She gave it a few seconds to adjust to her presence, waiting to see if it would try to do anything to her.

But it didn't. Feeling a little safer, she rubbed her hand along the tentacle, the texture new and strange to her. After a few seconds, she'd finally worked up the courage and leaned in, hugging herself against the tentacle, wrapping her arms around it and squeezing gently. "'Salright, big guy. I won't hurt you," she said quietly. Then she called out to Four, "I'm OK! I made it!"

"Good going, Five!" Lorne shouted back happily, and as Lily let go to descend, she felt a rumble beneath her as Octostomp prepared to get back up.

She wasn't quite prepared for how nimble he'd be though. As soon as she'd jumped down from his chassis, the Octo boss almost bounced up into the air, landing gracefully on his small two legs. He'd left a imprint of maroon ink on the ground, with little cutouts for his face and the cutouts in his front panelling.

"Tell you what," Lily said with a smile to the two of them. "Hugging something that big felt pretty good. Glad I got that out of my system."

"You did good." Lorne smiled at her. "But now the training begins. So, here's what you'll do - he'll be trying to rush you, as we mentioned before. Evade those as best as you can for a while and then, if he slams down, climb up and get the hug on 'im! And then every time you do, he'll—"

Lorne was cut off by a loud, powerful roar from Octostomp. Under its power, the ink that had already been laid down lifted off the various surfaces and dissipated.

This didn't stop Lily from tensing and bracing herself, as if the beast was about to rush and eat her alive.

"...he'll do that." Lorne chuckled, and turned to Lily. "So, when you're ready, give us some sorta signal, and we'll get you going and watch over you two to make sure all is well!"

"Uh... alright." With a bow toward the Octo box, Lily slowly made her way toward one side of the arena, and Lorne watched 'Stompy' made their way to the opposite, then super-jumped her way back to the platform that they had entered the area on. She was safe.

Once Lily had reached the other side of the boss platform, she checked the ink levels on her Hero Shot, and fired once, just giving herself an area to top up and mark where she had started. Then she stood tall and, after doing some quick stretches, held the weapon in front of her, ready to move, watching her opponent carefully.

Four's voice came in over Lily's headset. "Alright Lily, you ready to go?"

"I…I guess so… I'm still not sure about this."

"Don't worry, you'll learn the same way I did. At the sound of my whistle, that's your cue to start moving, alright?"

Lily didn't get a chance to respond - because Four's whistle went off immediately after she finished speaking, and ahead of her, the massive Octostomp leapt into action, putting on his 'game face' and only giving her a few seconds to prepare before he launched into a charge, grinding the corner of his frame against the ground right at her.

Lily briefly froze. The arena was a decent size, but again, the scale of that thing charging at her… For a moment she was simply a deer in the headlights.

But then Lorne's voice called in her ear, "Lily, move!" and she unfroze, her human self-preservation kicked in, and she sprinted and dove off to the left, two seconds before she watched Octostomp's metal frame grind to a halt a few meters past where she was just a few moments ago.

_…Holy shit_, her human mind told her, breathing heavily as she stared at the spot where she would have been crushed._ I'm going to die doing this._

She took a deep breath. Then, lifting her Hero Shot up and getting back on her feet, Lily began inking a path forward, around the beast. She keyed her mic between shots. "Sorry, I froze up! Friendly or not, that guy's fuckin' terrifying to face!"

"Just keep moving, and remember to use your ink! Remember, you move faster swimming in it!"

"Got… got it."

Stompy was already up again and turning to see where Lily had gone. Lily leapt for the ink trail she'd made, transforming, and swam around, trying to keep him from getting a lock on her until she was ready.

She came up near the other side of the platform, breathing hard. She knew she was going to have to get him to attack again. She reminded herself, _just get out of the way when/if he charges, and then I can ink my way up his side_. "Hey!" She shouted at her, waving. "Come at me!"

He didn't charge in quite the same way, though. He actually ran at her on his short little legs til he was about half-way to her, and then, when he was almost there, to Lily's surprise, he stopped, bend down just a bit, then launched up into the air.

Lily saw quickly, despite parts in the front panelling missing, that she was about to be crushed if she didn't get out of the way. She quickly kept moving, launching herself into her ink and swimming as fast as she was able.

If the noise Octostomp made when he simply tipped over was immense, the noise and force of at least tens of tons of metal and Octo crashing down almost right on top of her damn near blew her away.

Agent 5 was lifted from her ink by the rush of air, disoriented and ears ringing. She barely heard Agent 4's voice in her ear, cheering her on. "Great! Now get up there!"

Stumbling, she turned to face the Octo boss again, to see that this time he couldn't get up so easily - or _wasn't_ getting up easily. This was supposed to be 'training', after all - maybe he was giving her a break? Either way, she saw the path up Stompy's side was clear, and she rushed at it, firing her weapon in a straight line up him, and flung herself into the ink and swam up.

She clambered onto the 'top', his back, his tentacle exposed and vulnerable. _Whew, just a bit further…_

"Remember, Five - hugs!"

Five glanced over to where Agent 4 was, off in the distance, and nodded.

Then, before Octostomp got any ideas about getting up and throwing her off, she sprinted across his back and flung herself at the tentacle. She caught it in a tackle-hug, wrapping her limbs around it as best she could.

Once again, the tentacle froze. Lily, once she was catching her breath and realising she'd 'made it', considered he probably didn't expect her to hug him quite that roughly. She let herself just cling to it for a moment, letting the adrenaline wear off, letting the fear of death fade.

She realised, once more of her critical thinking had returned, that she would have respawned if she had been crushed or ground up. And she would have bet that no squid (or Octo, she reminded herself) would have had the same instinct, the same feeling that they only had one 'life'.

Agent 5 finally let go of Octostomp's tentacle and let herself fall onto his back, taking deep breaths. Slowly, she reached for her transmit button as she saw the tentacle curl down toward her, and gently caress her body in …appreciation?, causing her to tense regardless. "Agent 4… I know you and Callie mean well. And even this guy," she added as she pet the tip of the tentacle brushing her. "But I had some strong human self-preservation stuff kick in with all that. Making me feel like I was gonna die and stuff…"

Agent 4 was silent for a few seconds. Then she replied, "You did well for your first time, Lily. I'm sorry that we put you through that…"

"No, I… I mean I'm committed to this work. This training is… a good idea. It's just gonna be a while before I can… before I can break those human instincts. Before I don't have to remind myself that I'm just more resilient than I used to be." She sighed. "As I said… old habits will die hard, Four. But thank you. And you, 'Stompy'," she said as she finally got up, giving the tentacle another pat before she jumped down from his body, letting him get back up. "I'm glad we could do this in a controlled environment at least…"

"Yeah… same here. That's why I'm so glad Callie managed to organise this."

"You're welcome!" A new voice called in over both their headsets. "Five, don't worry. You know we'll all be here to support you."

"Heh… thanks, Callie. Welcome to the party. Where are you?" She looked about the place as Stompy launched back onto his feet, and then gently followed her over to the side of the arena where Agent 4 was Super Jumping over to.

"Back at the Hideout! Me and Marie just got in."

"Morning, girls," Marie's voice joined the party. "You done with your training? Sheldon tells us you had an encounter on the way in, and I'd like to talk about that."

"Ehh, we could be for now I guess," Agent 4 responded. "Lily only got one point in, but she seems shaken enough that it's probably a good idea to stop it there, and maybe go again another time." Taking her finger off the transmit, she asked Lily and Octostomp, "You guys are OK with that, right?"

"Yeah, I'm happy with that," Lily nodded. Turning her head to the massive box beside her, she smiled. "We mightn't have gotten to know each other too well, but that was a good session. Thanks for not doing me in." She patted his frame, yet again, in appreciation.

"Cool, then we'll see you up here soon, then!" Callie said cheerfully over the radio. "One and Two, out!"

"Four out."

"Five out." Lily moved her hand away from the headset, and sighed. "And this stuff just becomes normal eventually?"

Lorne made a sort of 'ehh' gesture with her hand. "It's not so much that it becomes normal, but you sorta… adjust. I mean, by the time I took on this guy myself, I was kinda used to the job. Apparently he's also fought against Agent 3. I suppose in a way, it makes sense to have him face you as well." She chuckled softly, and gestured back to the platform that would contain their way out. "Well, shall we get going, then?"

"I guess so." Lily turned to Octostomp, and bowed respectfully. "It's been a pleasure. I hope to train against you again soon." It was mostly a lie, Lily knew, but she wanted to be nice.

Octostomp bent his legs, and his structure tipped forward slightly as a kind-of bow in response.

Then both girls Super Jumped toward the platform, waved at him from there, then took the Launchpad home, speeding off toward the surface.


	17. Age of Enlightenment

When Agents 4 and 5 returned from the Depot, fresh from training with Octostomp, Callie and Marie were hanging about at their usual spot in front of the Cuttlefish Cabin. Octavio's eyes snapped over to watch 4 and 5 as they turned up.

"Hey, girls!" Callie waved, grinning. "You're looking great in the Agent gear, Lily!"

"Heh, thanks." Lily smiled and adjusted her headset, getting straight to business.

"Girls," Marie spoke softly, a more serious expression on her face. "Before we hear the details. Tell us. Did you hear about this 'Tartar' guy?"

"Yes," Lily replied simply.

"Was his supposed threat real?"

Four took a deep breath. "...Yes, it was real. From what me and Five heard, if they had been just a bit slower..." Her breath hitched, thinking about it... "He would have wiped us all out for good."

"FINALLY!" Octavio bellowed, taking interest. Lily took another look at him. He was still very much an octopus - he seemed to have no interest in shifting into a humanoid form like the rest of them. Did he even have one of those? Actually, did his eyes ever stop bulging like that?

"Let me clarify," Agent 4 said, raising her voice, clearly directed at him. "That means _every single living creature on this planet_ would be dead, or worse. That means you, Octavio."

"And just _how_ and _why_ would this 'Tartar' accomplish that?" Octavio said, unconvinced. "Y'all know it's no fun to rule when there's nobody under you, right?"

"I've never heard that saying before in my life. We were only told the guy nearly used a 'laser'." Lorne focused her eyes back on Callie and Marie. "But we should get some more in-depth information soon..."

"I'm surprised you're so interested in this," Callie mused at Octavio.

"It's MY world too!" The Octo King spat. "Besides, you've all left me here for days with nothing to do, this is the most interesting happening that's happened around here!"

"Heh, I guess that's true," Callie found herself nodding. "We've all been so busy with our own normal lives." She turned back to the girls. "Alright, so, without using their names, tell us what they told you."

Lily and Lorne took turns telling Callie and Marie (and Octavio, which Lily kept eyeing nervously, knowing that he was noticing) about what Marina had told them about Tartar, and his 'tests', and—

Agent 4 stopped herself as she realised something the girls had to know. "Hang on a sec, this is important too - Agent 3 and the Cap'n were there! Still _are_ there!"

"They— what? They were dealing with this guy, huh?" Marie mused. "Well at least we know what they've been up to now..."

"Sure, but, but- you've got an Agent 8 too!" Lorne blurted out. Lily could see that she was still processing this. And having run into Eight, she was still struggling with the idea herself.

"Uh— Hang on, what...?" Callie stopped, confused. "Agent Eight? But we don't even have..."

"He's an Octoling," Lily said, and Lorne and Callie both turned to look at her in disbelief. "Eight limbs."

"WHAT?!" Octavio bellowed from behind her angrily. "Who is this traitor?!"

"It's true," Marie nodded at the girls, realising just who 'Agent 8' was. "He was with 'those two' when they ambushed Lily the other day. I guess it must have been real bad if the Captain felt it was worth joining forces with the Octolings... or at least one of them, to get out of his situation."

Callie was starting to join the dots. "And you had said Tartar was created by humans, didn't you? Wow... they really _did_ think Lily was a world-ending threat, Two."

"Damn." Marie paused, thinking. "Alright, let's bring them in sometime." She removed a notepad and pen from a pocket in her yukata, and started scribbling a note. "Five, when you go collect your phones from them, I want you to hand them this note. We'll meet them at the Square and bring them here, at 11PM, in two days' time."

"We'll need to move Octavio somewhere, if we don't want any nasty shocks," Lorne pointed out.

"Ah, true. I think we can find a spot for him where he can't be found."

"Alright, is that everything then? Any questions? Objections?" Marie looked around, but no one spoke. "Alright, let's move out. Remember: Friday night, 11. Probably best to arrive a little early."

Lily and Lorne nodded. "Well uh, we should probably go change out of this gear then before we go back into the Square," Lily said with a small blush, glancing over at Lorne.

"Use the Cabin, it's fine," Callie smiled. "Take your time, we won't all be moving out all at—"

Before Callie could finish, Lily and Lorne had gone into the Cabin together and shut the door behind them.

She turned and raised an eyebrow at Marie. "Is it just me, or have those two been... a little closer lately?"

"They live together, cous'," Marie shrugged. "They're probably used to changing together."

"I'm just not sure that's all that is, but, alright." Callie eyed the door. "I hope they don't take too long..."

* * *

Pearl noticed from the studio right away as both Lily and Lorne appeared from the sewer grate opposite them.

"Yo, there they are," she said loudly to Marina, focused on them. "Are you sure I gotta give 'em back?"

"They _are_ hers, after all…" Marina sighed. "I get it. They're still… strange and new. But I'm pretty much convinced now. They're alright."

"Man, you _really_ came around on her huh, Marina?"

"I mean, when I talked to her this morning, she was polite, I didn't really get the sense she was deliberately hiding something… I mean, yeah, this Agent stuff is pretty crazy, but I get the impression that if we hadn't… started down this path with her, things would still be more-or-less normal, y'know?"

"I dunno… something about knowing she's not really one of us just…" Pearl creased her brow. "I don't know what it is I'm feeling about her, but…"

"Then I ask that you trust _me_." Marina rested a hand on Pearl's shoulder, leaning toward her. "I understand, but when we talk to her, _please_ give her a try. For me?"

Pearl looked into her bandmate's eyes, and sighed. She knew Marina was a good judge of character. She guessed that she just felt the way she did because of Tartar and his origins… "Alright, 'Rina. For you, I'll give her a shot."

"Thanks, Pearlie. Because—"

There was a gentle thump, then a second, on the glass panel that separated them from the Square. Pearl turned to look, and saw that both Lily and her friend were leaning against it. Lily had a letter or some kind of paper up to the glass, her right hand holding it at about hip-height, trying to look casual. Neither girl was looking. Instead they were in conversation with each other.

"…Because she's here," Marina finished. "Hey, that paper they've got. Is that for us?"

"Let's take a look, I guess." Pearl got out of her chair and walked over to the girls, kneeling down to read the message, and ignoring Marina's snorts - the message was at about butt-height to the girls, and it was hastily scribbled so Pearl had to lean close to make it out. "OK, yeah, this is for us. I'm gonna take a pic so I can get back over there."

"I'm gonna take a pic too," Marina chuckled, and Pearl heard the click of her phone camera.

"Aw, come on!" Pearl blushed angrily, pulling her phone out. "It's not my fault they— ugh, whatever…" With another 'click', a picture of the message was captured and Pearl quickly stood up to rejoin Marina at the table. Pulling up the image, she read aloud: "Pearl, Marina, and '8'. Meet us outside Sheldon's, Friday, 11PM."

"Oh! Wow, guess this is happening, huh?" Marina leaned back and thought. _Two days from now… I wonder why so late?_ "Alright, before they disappear, you better bring them to the side door. I'll be right over in a sec."

"Uh— Right, right." Pearl put her phone away and walked back over to the two girls, who had put the letter away and were about to leave. She tapped on the glass, and both girls turned to see her. Lily visibly gulped nervously at the sight of her. _Well, I suppose she's right to be nervous about me,_ Pearl thought to herself, feeling a little guilty._ Considering I nearly killed her…_

She pointed the two toward the side door, and made her way out of the studio herself to meet them there, stopping briefly to grab both of Lily's phones from the bag she left in the break room.

She was quickly at the door, and she took a few deep breaths as she laid her hand on the door handle. _C'mon Pearl… you can do this. For Marina…_

The turned the handle and pulled the door open, and as Lily and Lorne saw her she'd put on her 'persona'. "Ayo, girls!" She said with her usual enthusiasm, leaning her shoulder up against the door frame. "Got your message loud and clear."

"Uhh, hey Pearl." Lily looked quite uncomfortable doing this. Anxious, perhaps? "Listen I uhm… before anything else I just wanted to… apologise—"

Wait, huh? "Wait, why are—" Pearl started, confused.

"Why are you apologising?" Lorne said, confused and annoyed. Gesturing at Pearl, she said, "_She_ should be the one to apologise!"

"Yeah, I uh…" Pearl took a deep breath. "Lily, I'm… really super sorry about what I did to you the other day. We… we didn't know what we know now. And now that… we _know_ you weren't involved with… 'you know who', well… yeah, it doesn't really, um, justify…yeah."

"It's, um…" Lily tried to find the right words, that weren't 'it's okay'. "I guess I… I kinda deserved it… I never meant to intrude on Inkopolis, and I don't have a way back…"

"Mmm…" Pearl was silent for a few moments, unsure of how to follow that up.

Marina walked up behind her. "I guess we'll have plenty of time to discuss things like that on Friday, huh…?"

"Well… actually, that's less to do with Lily and more to do with… our bosses wanting to know what's been going on on your side. We have the brief from Marina, but, y'know…"

"Right, right… That's fair." Marina put on a smile. "Your 'bosses' being Callie and—"

"Yes, yes, alright!" Lily sighed exasperatedly. "Y'all know more than I expected you to about that… side of things."

"Well, again, we do keep in contact with Craig and Three…"

"I guess they trust _you two_ a bunch then..?" Lorne sighed. "You two are… Man, this basically means we're two separate factions of the same team, then. It'd be nice to get everyone together for once."

"Mmm." Marina nodded. "Well, this meeting will be as close as we can get for a while."

"Yeah…" Pearl sighed, then, remembering, dug into her pockets, pulling out Lily's phones. "Well, we promised ya, kid. Here ya go." She held them out to her.

"I promise I haven't looked through them… since the sewers, anyway," Marina admitted guiltily. "I never touched your squid phone."

"…Well, I appreciate your honesty." Lily held the phones carefully, relieved to finally have them in her hands again. "Well… it's nice to have them back, at least. …Oh, man, finally, I have all my music back! Yes!"

"Music?" That caught Marina's attention. "What kinda music you got on there?"

Lily held up her iPhone in response, with a grin. "It's on _this_ thing, if that answers your question."

Pearl and Marina just stared at her and the phone for a moment, processing what she meant.

Then Marina gasped loudly. "Wait, wait - you have old music on that thing?! That's so cool!" The Octoling idol let out a squee of excitement. "Any way you could share some of it with us?"

"Well, I haven't really figured out how to get any of it off onto any other device, into a format that you guys could use… I guess I'll keep you up to date."

"Hmmm…" Marina thought for a moment, then reached out a hand. "Could I have your phone for a second? Your squid phone."

Lily cautiously handed it over. "Why…? What are you thinking?"

"I'm gonna give you my details." She tapped away at the device. "I'd love to help you get that stuff onto something more current. I'm not sure I'm the right person for that, but, I know one or two people who might be able to convert obscure formats like yours." She handed the phone back to Lily, who saw that the display now showed a contact page for 'Marina Ida'.

"Oh that's funny. The most popular digital music format in human history… obscure." She shrugged, and pocketed both phones. "Anyway, yeah, I guess I'll be in touch if you wanna help with that, and I'll… figure out how to get anything off my phone at all. Thanks."

"No worries." Marina smiled.

"So… Friday night, then?" Pearl asked, slightly impatient, ready to end this conversation.

"Yeah, I know it's a bit of an odd time," Lorne acknowledged. "I guess their reasoning is, hardly anyone will be around, and you two definitely won't be working by then."

"You got that right. Alright. We'll be there." Pearl nodded, and threw up a thumbs-up.

"Thanks for stopping by, girls!" Marina said cheerfully. "We'll be in touch!"

"Sure thing." Lily casually saluted as she started to make their way toward the Deca Tower entrance. "See you then, I guess."

"Seeya," Lorne said with a nod as both girls turned their backs to the idols.

Pearl and Marina watched them go, then closed the door and made their way back into the studio.

* * *

As the clock neared 11PM on Friday, Marina checked the time on her phone yet again.

"Hmm, this is strange," she remarked. "I hope things are OK..."

Neither Lily, Lorne, or the Squid Sisters were anywhere to be found, and the Square was empty as she, Pearl and Eight hung around outside the studio. The stores had long since shut, as had the studio, and so the light primarily came from the billboards and displays around them.

"They're actually coming, right?" Pearl asked with a hint of concern. "They wouldn't just pull our leg like this?"

"After everything, I don't see why they would..."

"Whoa. Hey, Marina?" Eight nudged her, and gestured toward Sheldon's store.

Atop the grate just outside Ammo Knights that led to the sewer canals, was a woman, standing silently.

She was dressed in black, though her yukata was lightly patterned, and she held a traditional Brella over her head to block the sunlight. It was an oddly familiar sight…

"Huh... who's that? I get the feeling I've seen them before, in that exact spot..." Marina focused, trying to get a read on if it was someone they knew.

As the three watched her, she raised the Brella just slightly, enough to where they could see her eyes. And as the Inkling's gaze drifted over to them, Pearl realised just who it was. "Wait, isn't that... Marie?"

"I...think you're right. Let's go meet her." Marina started toward the grate.

But, having drawn their attention, Marie turned squid and dropped through the grate, and vanished.

"Hey— wait!" Pearl called out, as she and Marina rushed over to the grate, trying to peer inside.

"I thought we were meeting here…" Marina was confused. "Is she… leading us somewhere?"

"Do we… trust her?" Eight asked, cautious. His Inklish had improved more over the past few days.

"We have to," Pearl responded. "Up here, _she's_ your boss, _and_ the boss of Lily and the other girl."

"Oh… yes." Eight's face sank. He wasn't sure what to think about the human being on his side. In his eyes, he was firmly on the side of these two girls, and the Captain… and Agent 3, no matter how weird he seemed.

"Well, no use waiting around," Marina sighed, and turned octopus, dropping down through the grate after Marie.

"Hey— Wait for me!" Pearl shouted after her, and also shifted, leaving Eight to chase after the two, following them where-ever Marie was leading them…

* * *

A minute or so later, following another strange, hidden grate inside the sewers, the three leapt from the last grate.

Marina's shoes hit the ground first, and she looked around herself. Pearl and Eight were just behind her. She gasped and froze as she realised just where they were.

She had been led back to Octo Canyon.

"No…" Marina took a slow step back. "This has to be a mistake."

"What do you mean?" Pearl asked, looking around. "Yeah this place looks crazy, but like… there's her Brella right there." She gestured at a little cabin just ahead of them, on which the Brella was indeed leaning against.

"Pearl, I mean…" Marina gulped, nervous. "Pearl, this place… this is the Octo Canyon. This is where half of the Octarians live. This is where _Octavio_ lives. This is where _I_ used to live."

"…Oh." Pearl bit her lip. "Well… they wouldn't have brought us to this part of it if it wasn't safe, yeah?"

Marina sighed. "I guess…"

"I think I've… never been here," Eight said quietly, nervously holding the Octo Shot by his side. "I grew in the Valley."

"Well, this area's all new to me," Pearl said, walking next to her band partner, looking around in semi-awe. "But check out all this cool floating stuff. Isn't your workshop around here somewhere?"

"Yeah… Shifty Station's around," Marina said. "Why do you ask?"

"I'm just… I can start to see where you get the tech to build that kinda stuff."

Marina sighed. "The Canyon's not that obvious of an inspiration, is it?"

"Only now that I know," Pearl nodded. Then she nudged Marina's side. "It's pretty rad, though. Like I tell you every time, that you build and work with all the things you do is pretty amazing."

"Heh… thanks." Marina smiled.

Marie and Callie were waiting for them on the other side of the Hideout, by the Octo Oven's kettle, dressed in Agent gear. Lily and Lorne were next to them, in casual clothing.

"Welcome, everyone," Callie, Agent 1, said. "Thank you for your co-operation. I don't believe we need to introduce ourselves…"

"Wait wait wait," Pearl butted in, recognising the uniform immediately. "You two are part of the Squidbeaks? THAT'S what you had meant, Marina?!" She shot a glance at the Octo, then turned back to the Sisters. "I mean, I know Cuttlefish is your grandpa and all, but-"

"Is that a problem?" Marie, Agent 2, cut her off. "We're involved in a bit more than just our music careers around here. Seems the same could be said for the two of you."

Marina sighed. "Yeah… I guess you could say that. It all kinda happened by mistake."

Callie prodded them. "Take a seat and take it from the top, girls. Tell us everything you can. What _happened_ out there?"

With Pearl's and Eight's help, Marina told the Agents all about Off the Hook's trip to Mount Nantai, the encounter with the Captain and Eight, Commander Tartar and the Thangs, the Kamabo Corporation, NILS, Agent 3, and the battle at the statue. Callie, Marie, and Agents 4 and 5 listened quietly as they told their story.

"After that all happened," Pearl continued, bringing the story around to the present, "once we saw the weird newbie girl again," she gestured at Lily, "we realised that with her sudden appearance, plus the phone, stuff falling from the sky, the car… things just seemed to add up, but we didn't know for sure until Sheldon confirmed it for us."

"So, well… You know what happened after that," Marina added with a sigh. "We stopped Lily in the sewers to ask her some things, Pearl nearly… yeah, then after Marie rescued her was when we started to think about it more critically."

"...I see." Marie turned briefly to Agent 5. "And you definitely didn't know anything about Tartar before?"

"Not until after it went down at the hotel, and only then it was his name and NILS. I haven't been carrying any secret evil plans or anything. Unless he really did have something to do with me getting brought here, I'd have no way of knowing if it's true or not."

"Well that's settled then." Marie turned back to Off The Hook and their Octo friend. "Agent 4 had told us you had moved Tartar somewhere outside Inkopolis. Do you remember where he is?"

"Yeah," Pearl nodded. "We took him deep into Triggerfish Forest, waaay out of the way. He can't hurt anyone there. Can't even move."

"Could you take us there?" Five asked, seemingly unplanned as Callie, Marie, and Agent 4 looked at her with concern. "With everything that's happened, I have some questions I'd like to ask him…"

"Uhh…" Marina raised an eyebrow, but seemed to understand. "I mean, we could, but it'll take some planning. It'd have to be a day that we could dedicate entirely to this trip…"

"The edge of Triggerfish Forest is about an hour out of the suburbs," Callie explained to Agent 5. "But it's massive. Even if we started from Camp Triggerfish, depending how deep in we have to go, it could be several hours to get there, and back."

"I understand. It's just…" Lily sighed. "From all accounts, he seems to be the only connection to the past. I loathe him for the impression he's made of humans on you guys, and the things he's done of course, but… I feel like he's the only lead I have on getting some answers about what happened… Why am I here, how did humans die out, is there a way back, that sort of thing…"

"…Mmm." Agent 4 nodded. "Well, if you're set on doing that, Lily, I'll make that journey with you."

"We'll… keep in touch about that," Marina nodded, but frowned. "If that is what you feel you need to do, we'll… We'll figure out some way to make that work. I would certainly be interested in those answers…"

"That's all I ask." Agent 5 fell silent again.

"Well, let's let things calm down a bit before we settle on anything," Marie said, mainly directed at Agent 5. "Lily, I'd like you to finish your training first before you make any sort of trip to meet Commander Tartar. I trust these two that he can't hurt you, but it can only help to be ready when confronting a creature like that."

"…Alright." Lily quietly nodded. "I'll do my best."

"Don't worry," Callie said with a smile. "You have our full support." She turned to the Octoling boy who had been so far sitting quietly by Pearl and Marina. "There's something we should address. If I understand this right, our leader Captain Cuttlefish named you Agent 8. Is that right?"

The boy nodded quietly. He was slightly unprepared for the attention being focused on him. "'Number 10,008' was being… much of a mouthful," he said quietly, with a gentle snort of almost-laughter.

"I… see. Well, from what we've heard of your adventure, you've certainly earned your place here." Callie smiled at him, trying to come off as reassuring. "Do you have a name?"

This seemed to stun 'Eight'. He mumbled quietly and looked down at the ground.

"It's okay, they'll understand," Marina told him, resting her hand comfortingly on his shoulder. "May I tell them for you?"

The boy nodded silently, eyes closed.

"He's… lost some of his memory, from before the Metro," Marina explained to them. "From what I've been able to gather from talking to him and the Captain, the incident that caused him to end up in the Metro caused him to lose many details from his memory. Somehow… Cuttlefish told us that as he completed each station, he seemed to get memories about certain places and things back. But so far he has not been able to remember his real name. There still seems to be some gaps in the memory of his past." She sighed, and leaned across to give Eight a hug. "'Eight' has kinda stuck for us, so… that's what we've called him."

"Are you okay with us referring to you as 'Eight' in public then?" asked Marie, her voice softer than it was when talking to Lily.

"I…" The boy looked up at her, and slowly nodded. "I am okay with this."

"Very well." Marie nodded, and stood. "Before we move too far ahead, I feel that I should introduce you to the rest of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Eight. My name is Marie - I'm Agent 2 on the team. I'm also one half of the pop duo 'The Squid Sisters'."

Callie volunteered next. "Welcome to the Squidbeaks, Agent 8. I'm Agent 1, my name's Callie. And I'm the other half of the Squid Sisters." She smiled. "From the sounds of things, you've already heard our rendition of the Calamari Inkantation."

_The melody etched on the soul…_ Eight nodded.

Callie's smile widened. "Me and Marie's job, outside of our personal careers, is to protect Inkopolis from possible threats, and retaliate against attacks to our city. This is the job of all our Agents, first and foremost."

"We also occasionally run recruiting while the Captain's away. When the situation calls for it," Agent 2 added with a slight chuckle.

"You've already met Agent 3 of course. He's our oldest agent, outside of the two of us. In a way, I suppose that it's because of his determination to retake the stolen Great Zapfish two years ago that you're here with us today. I'm not sure that he knows that yet, though."

"Four, if you will?" Marie prompted, glancing at Lorne.

Lorne sighed. "Hi there, Agent 8. Yes, I'm Agent 4. Real name Lorne. I used to be a profreshional player in the Splat Zone leagues. I got enlisted about a month ago to beat back DJ Octavio for the Great Zapfish again, and rescue someone that had been captured by him." She eyed Callie, saying nothing, then turned her attention back to Eight. "I may seem a little uncomfortable with the situation, Eight, but that is not because of you - though I can't say I was thrilled with yours and Pearl's treatment of Lily… But it wasn't that long ago that we thought Octarians were the enemy. Sorry, Marina," she said as an aside to the darker-skinned idol.

"Wh-what? I'm not an…" Marina's eyes went wide and she immediately got all flustered, but went quiet as all eyes were on her, finally letting out a sigh and looking away. "Fine… I guess this isn't the time to try to pretend I'm not…"

"We've known since you first arrived," Marie said gently to her. "Me and Callie did, anyway. I believe Lorne is referring specifically to the Octarians under Octavio's control."

"And even then," Lorne added, "I think the three of us have pretty much agreed that it's only the big guy on top that's the problem."

"…Mmm." Marina looked back at them. "Okay. I could agree with that."

"I'm glad. I hope I didn't offend," Lorne sighed. "Though we should probably let Lily introduce herself now…"

Lily sighed, and glanced at Eight. He seemed like he didn't know what to think of her being here, as his attention finally turned to her. "I guess so… Hello Agent Eight. I'm sorry that our first meeting was under such drastic circumstances. I'm Agent 5, Lily. I'm… I'm the human. Ex-human. Whatever you want to call it." She paused for a moment to work out what she wanted to say next, knowing Eight was already judging, had already judged her. "I'm… an agent because the things that came through to this world with me are scattered throughout Inkopolis and beyond, including here in the Canyon, and while I don't know what everything is, I want to make sure that anything that I'm responsible for that could be used as a weapon does not get into the hands of someone like Octavio.

"In regards to Tartar, well, I think my only connection to him is that while I…used to be human - and make no mistake, the only part of me that's human anymore is my brain, my mind, my memories, whatever - he was created by humans, and survived all of this time that they've been extinct. He would, _should_ know what happened in the time between when I was pulled from 2018 and dropped here. Course… After what what you, Marina and Pearl have told us about what happened out there… I kinda wanna just give him what for, on behalf of the rest of humankind." She sighed.

"You know, Lily," Lorne started. "I'm starting to notice you talk more when you're nervous."

"…Probably, yeah." Lily nodded, looking down. Then, glancing back at Eight, she extended a hand. "I just hope that, if me and Eight are going to be on the same team, that we can improve relations." She thought for a moment if she wanted to add anything else, but shook her head. "That's it from me."

"Thank you, Agent 5." Callie smiled. "How are you feeling, Eight?"

Eight looked around, turning to look at their faces. They all seemed to be welcoming him - even the human and Agent 2, Marie, the one who, only a week ago had him at the end of a Brella. He looked down at Lily's extended hand, and sighed. "I do not deserve this," he said slowly, before finally extending his own hand and clasping it in Lily's for a handshake. "Thank you to all. We have unfinished business," he added to Lily, "but I am thinking it can be settled in the turf wars."

"Sounds good," Lily nodded. "Probably the better way to work out our… brief history."

"Shouldn't Eight introduce himself properly?" Lorne asked One and Two.

"I'm not gonna make him do that this time around," Callie decided on the fly, eyeing the Octoling boy. "I am curious to learn more about him, but considering everything else that's been going on, I'm happy to just let him do that when he's ready."

"Probably in smaller groups as well," Marie added, "instead of all together like this. This meeting was more to get him to know us, and to finally know what this Tartar situation was."

"Well," Marina sighed, "We're glad we could finally talk to you guys about this. And… Lily," she turned to her. "I know we kinda said it the other day, but, just to get it on the record… We… were wrong. When we first found out you were human, we… well, you know. We thought you were part of Tartar's team."

Pearl continued. "We thought Tartar had summoned you to finish his job… I dunno, like maybe he had a backup weapon, and you were waiting for the right time and…"

"It's dumb in retrospect, we know… but it wasn't too long after we foiled him, that we met you at the Albacore Hotel. We were still coming off of that… that thing that we were moments away from the complete destruction of our world…"

"And we thought Octavio was the worst we had to worry about." Marie sighed. "I appreciate that you've done that, girls. Thank you." She pulled out her phone to check the time. "Goodness, we've been at this for a while. Alright, well, I think we should call it there, and reconvene at another time to let things cool off. I want to thank everyone who came out tonight. I know it wasn't friendly to some schedules, so I appreciate the effort you've all made. Marina, Pearl, Agent 8. Are you three right to get home?"

"Yeah, we'll be fine," Pearl said nonchalantly, with a slight yawn. "We can take Eight back to his place, it's cool."

"Alright, well. Dismissed." Marie stood up. "Again, thank you for coming by. We'll be in touch."

Everybody got up, stretching, everyone starting to make their way up to the grate back to Inkopolis. The Agents waved as Pearl, Marina and Eight disappeared down the grate, making their way back to the Square.

As Lily and Lorne waited by the grate, allowing the first group enough time to leave the Square so none of them stood out, Lorne took a deep breath. "Callie, Marie, there's… something we ought to tell you, for transparency's sake."

Marie raised an eyebrow, asking "What's up, Four?". Callie grinned, to Lorne's confusion.

"Well…Me and Lily have started dating," she said quickly, trusting the two girls would understand. "Only recently, but… yeah. Now don't worry, we've both agreed to make sure that we won't let it impact our work, but—"

"Aw, that's cute!" Callie squeed. "Congrats to both of you!" She pounced forward and embraced both girls in a hug, Lorne reciprocating. Lily blushed deeply, but also joined back in the hugging.

"Same," Marie nodded. "I'm glad that both of you have found comfort in each other. I hope that doesn't mean you'll have less time for your work," she added with a smirk, before also joining in briefly.

Smiles were wide when the girls pulled apart. "We'll be fiiiine," Lorne finally responded, finding Lily's hand and squeezing it gently. "But thank you for understanding, girls."

"Of course!" Callie grinned. "You two better get moving - we'll need to change out of this gear before we head out ourselves."

"Yeah, wearing this Agent stuff was more for showing off, to be honest." Marie chuckled. "Kinda to increase the impact we had on those three. I'd say it worked."

"I think so too." Lorne smiled. "Alright, we'll get moving, then, Lily. See you girls later."

Together, Lily and Lorne plunged into the sewer grate heading back to the Square.

* * *

Lily and Lorne sat quietly as the train carried their tired bodies toward West Inkopolis. It was somewhere past midnight and all they wanted more than anything else was to get home, crawl into bed and sleep.

At this time of night, the train was mostly empty. Most of the nocturnal, social creatures that were on the train were in the front carriages. The two inklings had chosen, again, to hang out in the back carriage, where their only passenger was another inkling, sleeping, with long hair and a thin blanket with an odd symbol draped over himself.

"Lily…?" Lorne asked her partner, who'd briefly zoned out. Lily shook her head to wake herself up a bit as she looked over. "If…if Tartar did have a way for you to go home… back to your time… would you take it?"

The 'sleeping' inkling's eye opened slightly, watching them discreetly.

Lily sighed. "It's… complicated. I… would love to see my friends again. To see my family again. To let them know I'm OK. To tell them of the wonderful world I've found here. And I… I'd kind of love to be able to show you the world that I lived in.

"But…if it was a one way thing, if I couldn't come back, or if I had to be an inkling forever, trapped in that old world… I just couldn't. Not anymore." Lily laid her head on Lorne's shoulder, yawning softly. "I do miss them. A lot. But I think I've been more successful under my own power in this world than I ever was in my own. And I have you, of course." She gently planted a kiss on her cheek. "And the others…"

"Okay…" Lorne rested her arm over the girl's shoulder. "I just… Is it bad of me to think that when you were talking about asking if there was 'a way back', that you still wanted to leave?"

"…No, I don't think you're wrong to think that…" She sat quietly, her drowsy brain trying to come up with the right words to explain what she was feeling, but couldn't think of any. Instead she simply said "I'm committed. To this team. To you. I just… want to know if that option was always there."

Lorne was silent.

"I_ couldn't_ leave anymore, Lorne," Lily repeated, sensing her partner might have been concerned with the answer. "I don't _want_ to leave. I just… don't blame you for thinking that I might have." She checked her phone for the time. "God, can this train just get us home already? I'm too tired for this."

* * *

As the girls finally arrived at the apartment, they dragged their feet in silently, throwing off their shoes. Lily detoured into the kitchenette to pour two cold drinks.

"Can you close the door, Lily?" Lorne said sleepily, already crawling into the bed.

"Yeah, okay," replied Lily softly. She left the drinks on the counter temporarily, and walked back over to the apartment door.

As she moved to close it, a leg appeared and blocked the door from closing. Lily grumbled as its owner moved into view, an equally-tired inkling with lime-green hair and something around their head. "Excuse me," Lily said grumpily. "1AM is not the time for visitors. If you really need to talk to us, there's…"

Lily had begun to notice something about this person. It was the sleeping inkling from the train. His blanket was tied around his neck and hung down his back like a cape.

"_Excuse me_," Lily said, a little angry now. _Who was this stalker?_ "What are you doing following us? If you try anything, we're the wrooong people to fuck wi—"

"I'm not going to try anything," said the boy, "but I need to talk to you. …And I also need a place to stay for the night. I don't know this part of town."

"No chance. Goodnight." Lily waved him off, but he didn't move.

"Agent 5."

Lily stopped, stunned for a few seconds. Pretending like she didn't understand, she replied, "Excuse me, what?"

"Agent 5. Real name Lily." He reached his hand in and opened the door further. "And your friend, Agent 4, real name Lorne. I need to talk to you both."

Lorne stared at him from the bed, before grumpily throwing the blankets aside and getting back up. She walked over to the doorway, and yanked the boy inside, closing the door with a thump. Lily flicked the kitchenette lights on. "OK, who the _fuck_ are you," Lorne asked the boy, "and why are you at our door in the middle of the night?"

The boy straightened up, freeing himself from Lorne's grip. He undid the tie of the blanket around his neck again, and began to remove his bulky jumper. "I'm sorry to pull this on you so late. We only just got back a few hours ago, and only just found where you all were, but I had orders to find you…"

The jumper came free.

Underneath, the boy was wearing a long-sleeved black shirt, a hi-vis construction vest on top. As he pulled a familiar headset from the jumper's singular pocket, both Lily and Lorne's mouths dropped.

The boy said, "My name's Remo. I'm Agent 3. Captain Cuttlefish has asked me to come find you."


	18. Heart Is King

The sun rose on another day in Inkopolis.

Lily was the first of the girls to wake in the apartment, as the sunlight reflected off the building across the road and into the room. She slowly shifted under the blankets and reached across her dresser to grab her phone, checking the time.

It was 10AM. Lily blinked in surprise. It had been a long time since she had properly slept in. It wasn't the best sleep, but she actually _felt_ well rested for once, especially after how long she and Lorne had been up last night. Usually she always just felt tired no matter how she slept.

She carefully slid out of bed, trying not to wake her partner, and walked over to the kitchenette to pour a cold, water-like drink.

On the way past the lounge space, she glanced over the couch at their guest, expecting him to be asleep. Instead, Remo was silently tapping away on his phone, his blanket draped over him - wait, now that she saw it properly, it did seem more like a cape - and glanced up as Lily passed, acknowledging her with a nod.

Neither of the girls had been thrilled at his sudden arrival and demand to speak with them - but he had capitulated to their compromise to talk to him in the morning.

In the light of the morning, Lily noticed the discolouration on his face - a splotch of greenish-blue around his right eye, and the mismatched colours of his eyes as a result. It was... unnerving to look at, and even more so now that Lily knew the whole story, and knew that it was the mark left by a genocidal AI.

Remo cleared his throat conspicuously - he knew she was examining his eye, and seemed to not be comfortable with it. Lily sighed in response, as she continued into the kitchenette. "Sleep well? Want me to pour some naturals for you too?"

"Yes, please," he said, quietly. "I slept alright. Beats subway benches."

"Mmm." She grabbed two plastic cups from the cupboards in the bench that separated her from the lounge space, and filled them with the watery oils from the taps. She walked back over to the couch, handed him one of the cups, and sat on the couch arm opposite his head, sipping at her own.

The silence lasted a few uncomfortable minutes, as Lily couldn't think of anything appropriate to say.

"...Look," Remo finally said with an exasperated sigh. "If you need to ask about the eye, just ask. Just get it out of the way."

Lily finally looked back at him, and Agent 3 could see she was saddened. "I... don't have anything to ask about it," she said quietly, eyes flickering to the bed as he saw Lorne begin to stir. "I just feel awful because I finally know who did that to you. I don't know what you must think of me, considering you probably know - you _must_ know what I used to be - but I promise you that I have never worked with him, I have no intention of destroying anything, I..." She trailed off, not able to finish the thought, and sighed, looking down at the cold drink in her hand. Quietly she finished, "I'm sorry that my kind created the likes of him. I promise that I'm not the same..."

Remo watched her quietly for a moment, examining her in the soft morning light. Like his friends above-ground had said, she seemed like a regular inkling on the outside, if a bit odd. To think that she was a human in hiding... He remembered the conversation he'd overheard on the train. She was comfortable living here, even if she missed all her human friends...

Someone's phone buzzed with a notification. Remo checked his phone.

"Lily," Lorne groaned groggily from the bed, "your phone's over here."

"Oh... thanks hun." Lily slid off the couch and walked back over to the bed, grabbing her phone off her dresser, leaning over to peck Lorne's cheek while she was there.

Lily stood back up and started checking the phone. It was a message from Marie. She read it silently at first, and Remo saw her face drop. She read the message aloud to him and Lorne: "'Lily, please bring Lorne and your guest to the usual place as soon as you're all awake'... signed M, C... and C."

Lorne turned over in the bed to face her, drowsy. "Two Cs?" She couldn't help yawning right after, and forced herself to sit up. "Who's the second?"

"The Captain, I imagine," Remo replied matter-of-factly. "He was taking after Agents 1 and 2 to talk to them while I tailed you two last night."

Lily stared at him, then walked over to the couch, annoyed. "Alright, what's this about, Three? I _hope_ y'all know I'm on your side by now! What does he think I'm gonna do?! Turn around and shoot my bosses in the back? My girlfriend?! I've got _no way back_ that I know of - I'm not just gonna blow away this new life I have!"

"Lily, please relax." He sat up on the couch, stretching as he grabbed his hoodie and his cape. "I know you have not met him, but please trust me on this. I'm sure he trusts One and Two's judgement."

"I'm just...I mean Pearl nearly killed me over-"

"She WHAT?!" Lorne shouted as she finally got up, staring at her and frustrated. "Why didn't you tell me this?! And you _still_ felt the need to try to _apologise to her_ on Wednesday?!"

"Yeah, hang on," Remo said with a look of concern. "I never heard this."

"Oh, yeah, you know how they had a 'chat' with me in the sewers? That was Pearl and your Agent 8 holding me at gunpoint with something called a Disruptor. I'm pretty sure it was just Pearl wanting me to admit to being this awful, evil creature y'all wanted me to be."

"For the love of the Great Zapfish, Lily... and you _STILL_ apologised to her." Lorne was furious now.

"I'm sorry, hun, but like... I already told you how my mind works. I felt bad for even taking up their time."

"Damnit, Lily..." Lorne sighed, grabbed her backpack from underneath the bed, walked over and hugged Lily tightly. "We have some work to do when we get you back on the training, alright? I _need_ you to break this."

"I'm... I'm sorr-"

"Stop that!" Lorne clung tighter, and Lily let out a sigh.

* * *

The three Agents were silent all the way in to the Square, Lily's anxiety running rampant, Lorne hugging and comforting her while Remo shot off anxious texts to the Captain and Marina's chatroom.

Lily didn't expect anything good to happen as they approached the grate that would take them to the Hideout. She had no idea what kind of person Captain Cuttlefish would be, she could only make assumptions, but - c'mon, he was a Captain, for goodness sake! AND he'd seen first-hand what Tartar, and humans, could do, _and_ he'd been hanging out in Pearl and Marina and Eight's chat while they were all on the hunt for her.

And he was the leader of the Squidbeak bunch. Callie, Marie, Remo, and Eight knew him well. And after his absence, down in the Metro, he was finally back to... what? To pass judgement on her? To _personally_ put an end to her? What if it was just to see her, though? To see what kind of person she was? Nah, her mind 'assured' her. He'd probably already decided what kind of person she was.

And now it was time to face the music.

"C'mon, Lily," Remo said to her as they stood around the sewer grate. "You've got nothing to worry about." He did a tiny hop and transformed, slipping through the grate first.

Lorne looked over at Lily again. "Easy for him to say," she said. "But Lily, whatever happens... I'm in your corner. You know that. I know the girls are too. You have our support. Let's go see what he wants." She too, transformed and fell into the grate, leaving Lily alone for a few seconds.

She knew they would all be waiting for her. At this point, she realised it would be best to just get it over with. After a moment to work up the courage, she tipped forward and, transforming, fell into the sewer grate.

* * *

Agent Three was the first to arrive in the Tentakeel Hideout.

And as expected, Agents 1 and 2, and Captain Cuttlefish were there to greet them.

The three were already in a passionate conversation, though it seemed like they had briefly moved on from the subject of Lily.

"You two knew what he was capable of! Why would you let her get captured like that?" Cuttlefish was demanding of Marie.

"Hey, hang on!" Marie said with a hint of frustration in her voice. "We were going through a rough patch already, you saw how our last Splatfest ended! And we were already starting to have solo careers taking off, it just..."

"Gramps, yeah we were having some trouble with each other," Callie grumbled. "But the decision to go and vent to Octavio was my own! _I'm_ the one that messed up! It's not like I thought he could do anything!"

"Either way, Gramps, it's not like we didn't fix it in the end."

Agent 4 was next to arrive, and as she heard the argument she also paused, just behind Remo. Seeing Captain Cuttlefish for the first time, Lorne thought he was much older than she had been led to believe, with all his wrinkles and that beard. And what was this old-person getup he was wearing? And the cane - if that was even a cane? After all, Marie's Brella was more than just a prop...

"Yeah? Then where is he, girls?"

"We moved him temporarily to where that overcooked bread box used to be," Marie said. "With Off the Hook visiting late last night, I didn't want to create a situation between Marina and Octavio, with everything else going on..."

"Hmmm... That's a good point." Craig scritched at his tentacle beard. "And the human knows about him?"

Callie sighed. "C'mon, Gramps. For the last time, her name's Lily, and yes, she's met him up here. She knows his history-"

"Agent 3!" Marie called suddenly, noticing him and Agent 4, glad to have an out. "It's been so long. It's so good to see you again."

Agent 3 walked up to the three of them, shaking hands with Callie, Marie, and the Captain. "It's good to be back home, Agent 2, Agent 1. Is this a bad time?"

"No, no, it's OK," Cuttlefish told him. "We're just working out a few details. Ah, Agent 4, I believe!" His attention turned to the younger Inkling, and came forward to shake her hand. "A pleasure to finally meet you. I've heard about your recent work - I'm very proud of you for being able to defeat DJ Octavio."

"Uhh - Thank you, sir." Lorne felt somewhat awkward about this whole situation, but shook the man's hand anyway. "It's an honor to finally meet you."

Cuttlefish smiled warmly at her, then looked around, realising someone was missing. "Is the h..." He sighed and stopped himself, noticing Marie's glare. "Is... Agent Five far behind you both?"

"She's..." Agent 4 turned around to the grate. "She was very nervous about coming in, but she must've been only a few seconds behind us." She walked over to the grate and knelt down over it, peering inside, trying to see how far away Lily might have been.

But to her surprise, the squid she was looking for was simply hiding in the inkrail, a blob of squid with her eyes sad, nervous. She had to have been there not long after she had arrived.

"C'mon Lily," Lorne said, trying to comfort her. "I know this is scary for you, but I don't think he'll hurt you. One and Two are up here too. Remember what I told ya before."

Lily simply stared up at her, but from her changing expressions it seemed she was at least thinking about it. Four heard Cuttlefish walking up behind her, watched him glance into the grate at Lily.

"Good morning, Agent 5," he said simply down at her. "Nervous to meet me, eh? I guess I don't exactly blame you, from the sounds of things we all have reasons to be nervous." He adjusted his glasses. "Come on up, Five, let's get a look at ya."

Lily stared up at them for a few moments, then blinked her eyes, and leapt up into the air and through the grate, shoes landing on the metal bars as she fluidly transformed back into her humanoid self. Her face still showed nerves, but from what Lorne and Remo could see she was at least less frightened than she was before. Quietly, looking at the ground she said, "H...hello Captain."

They guided her back to the Cabin and sat her down. Marie sat on one side of Lily while the Cap'n sat on the other side. As Marie calmed her and spoke to Remo, Agents 3 and 4 moving in a little closer, Craig examined Agent 5 carefully. As Remo had found, outwardly she didn't seem too different from many of today's Inklings he had seen - and like the profiles had said... "You and Agent 4 look almost alike," Craig mentioned to Lily, watching her expression carefully. "Is there a reason for that?"

Lily sighed, and nodded. "I... didn't just arrive fully transformed. I didn't... didn't just survive all these years. Like, it still doesn't feel that long ago to me that I was just living at home, with my family, and all the humans were alive and I had had a much more boring life. But, we found out that like... everything on this planet has evolved, their defense and attack mechanisms have evolved and grown stronger, but everything's still roughly at the same level, relatively, because everything was evolving to counteract each other. So my... my _old_ body simply was not equipped to handle it."

"Is... that true?" Craig raised an eyebrow at her.

"I don't actually know," she conceded with a shrug. "That's only my guess. The explicit truth is, according to Mar... Agent 2, when I arrived in this world I was blacked out and fell into a pool of Agent 4's ink. It... corrupted my DNA, or something along those lines. And uh... how long did it take to find out I was changed?"

Marie responded, "If I remember right, it was about a day and a... half? The time from us getting you into the Cabin to the next night when I checked in with some gear."

"Gear...? For a human, Agent 2?"

"The Octolings had stopped attacking, and we were worried that they had managed to ping her or something, and wanted to kidnap her, too." Marie shrugged. "I wanted to be sure that if me and/or Four were occupied, and they _did_ try to attack the Hideout, or her, that she could at least fend them off long enough for us to get there."

"And she ended up being right, they did try to capture me," Lily chuckled. "I knew nothing, but I managed to surprise them and hold 'em off long enough for Marie to come and save me."

"I see. And what have you been doing since?" Craig prodded gently, Remo listening intently.

"Well..." Lily thought back over the past month. "I _did_ look after the Cabin when Agent 2 and Agent 4 took on Octavio directly, been settling in to Inkopolis... I guess the main thing is I've been venturing out and collecting these items that came through the... portal, I guess, with me." She dug into her pocket, pulling out the iPhone once again, and handing it to Craig to look at, and then opened up her backpack, sitting at her feet, and pulled out the Acer laptop sitting behind her Agent gear, sitting it in her lap, folded. "We have a rough idea of where things are, or rather, where things were when we started looking. Some of it, I assume has landed in Octarian hands by now. I _definitely_ know a pair of headphones I used to have conked Octavio on the head. There's at least one more thing in the city, something outside of the city limits... There's something in Grizzco waters which will... be '_fun_' to try and get..."

"Grizzco?" Captain Cuttlefish glanced at Callie and Marie.

"That's that power-egg thing the younger kids are doing for work?" Marie explained.

"Y'know that weird company that's operating out at all those small outposts in the ocean where the Salmonids lay their eggs?" Callie furthered. "Otherwise prohibited territory? That's those guys."

"Hmm." Craig glanced down at the fancy human phone in his hand. It seemed similar in function to those other fancy cellphones the squids had nowadays, but it wasn't shaped in any particular way. It was just... a box. A rectangle.

Her laptop looked more like something older squids would carry around. The main difference with this one was the brand logo was basically unreadable to him, and the few stickers adorning it were of things he had no idea of... besides the one Squid Sisters logo tucked into the corner. Craig chuckled, and handed the phone back over.

"If you don't mind me asking," Remo piped in, gesturing at the laptop, "What are all these stickers about?"

"Well, I suppose it doesn't hurt to explain them." Lily pointed at the one at the top left, the more recognisable of the lot due to its D-Pad-like logo. The right side of the D-Pad was used to form part of the words 'Games **D**one Quick'. "This one's for a video game running marathon. People would get together and try to beat video games as fast as possible, and any proceeds they made would go to charity." She began to smile as she did this, going through old memories as she talked through everything.

She moved to the next logos. One was a diamond-shape with two 'arrows' on the left and right sides, and the inside of the shapes depicted some sort of landscape. "This one is for one of the music artists I enjoyed listening to in my time. And this," her finger moved to the logo below it, a 3D cross-type symbol with oil running over it, "is not only one of my favorite electronic music duos, but the first show I got to see performed live."

The sticker under that was the text 'still a piece of GARBAGE' in an... interesting style, atop the pixellated icon of a trash can. "This one is for a guy who made these silly short videos that I used to love. The text says 'still a piece of garbage', and the icon... yeah. I've seen trash cans here in Inkopolis." She moved her finger to the last sticker, the Squid Sisters logo she had had applied recently. "No comment. Bought it for obvious reasons, but also I figured it would help me blend in when I used it."

"I'm... not sure what I expected human culture to be," Callie noted as Lily put the phone in her pocket and the laptop back in the bag. "It's cool you're repping your favorite music though! I'm totally not just saying that because we're also on there." She grinned at Lily, who giggled softly.

"Well, Agent 5, consider me pleasantly surprised," Craig said, tapping his cane idly against the ground. "I'm not entirely sure what I thought to find up here, but I admittedly believed it would not be much in the way of good things. For that, I apologise."

Lily looked at him in surprise. Around her, Lorne breathed a sigh of relief, and Callie and Marie smiled, the latter resting a hand on Lily's shoulder. "I... wow, sir. Thank you."

"I do have a question about your future plans, though." Craig watched her expression drop slightly. "Agents 1 and 2 tell me you want to visit the resting place of Tartar. That telephone. But they didn't go into your reasoning..."

"We had a bit of an argument before you three turned up today," Marie explained sadly. "We kept talking over each other. But Lily, if you could tell him what you told us last night..."

Lily nodded, and sighed. "As you know, Captain, it's strange that I'm here at all. The circumstances around my arrival are still... unknown as far as I know." She started to think back to when it had all begun, though the details on the other side were slightly fuzzier. "In this new reality, 12,000 years later, I should be the _only_ human alive. If you can still call me human... But then we start hearing about Tartar, this thing that nearly destroyed your world, probably just because he wanted humans to evolve into existence again. But he was _made from humans_, back when I was alive. He's existed for all of this time. He must know what happened to humans, why we died out.

"He... he might know what happened to _me_. Hell, he might be _responsible_ for what happened to me. And if he brought me here... he may know if I was always just meant to be dropped here without a way home." Lily closed her eyes and took deep breaths. "I hate that he may be my only chance to find this stuff out, but while he can't do anything to us... my current idea is to... pretend to be on his side when I meet him. At least until I can't stomach him anymore. I can't pretend I'm not an inkling. But if I say something like, 'I'm a human who was turned against his will', he might be more willing to give answers."

"What will you do if he's no help to you?" Remo asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Then..." Lily shrugged. "I'm gonna give him what for either way. He shouldn't be the one representing humans in this world. It probably wouldn't do much, but maybe it'll make him think for a bit if not even humans like him."

"It probably won't," Remo sighed.

"Probably not," Lily conceded. "It'd make _me_ feel better, though."

"Hmm." Captain Cuttlefish had stood and was pacing about nearby the group. "I suppose you're in a unique situation to speak to him. But what about after that? What do you plan to do next?"

"Well... train up more through battling and whatever the other Agents have planned for me... venture out and collect more artifacts... and I guess assist in other missions where needed."

Craig nodded, in thought. "Would you consent then, Agent Five, for me to test your current ability in arena combat?"

"Uh... why?" Lily glanced at him, confused.

"Simply to see where to focus your training." For the first time since they had met, Cuttlefish actually _smiled_ at her. "And, selfishly, I would like to see my Agents in action."

"Oh? Are they training with me?" Lily asked, smiling.

* * *

"...This was... not what I had thought. This is... not going to last very long, you know."

Lily stared up at the group, already down on the now-unused Octo Shower's boss arena, dressed up in her Hero gear as the others prepared for the upcoming fight.

"Nonsense! This'll be fun!" Callie grinned down at her. "And we'll get to learn each other's technique!"

"Now, Agent 5," Cuttlefish radioed in to her headset as the others prepared, "Don't you worry. To account for your disadvantage in numbers you have your Agent gear, but none of your fellow Agents will. That will allow you to pick up armor we'll be placing just below, where you are now, so you can take more hits before needing to retreat."

"Just be sure to get away if it depletes, Five," Marie warned her, while adjusting her Charger. "And use it wisely. Once it's gone, it's gone."

"We'll all be using the radios too," Craig continued, "So you should know most of what your opponents will be doing. It'll just be a case of how to best use that information, Five."

"W-well hang on though - I'm not facing all of you at once, am I?!"

"Would you like to?" Remo teased, sliding on his headset, and having traded his Agent gear for some sort of polo tee and slip-ons.

"No!" Lily shouted quickly, eyes widening.

"Heh. Perhaps if you stay up long enough, Five," Cuttlefish thought aloud. "For now, let's start with a one-on-one. Then perhaps we'll put you up against some duos later if you're still running. Alright?"

"Uh... Okay." Lily nodded slowly, nervous.

"Good!" The old man beamed. "Agent 4, you're up first. Show me what you got!"

Lorne looked nervously between him and Lily as she stepped forward, holding her own Hero Shot. "Just pretend it's another Turf War scuffle, Lily, but don't think I'll go easy on you! You better start moving, 'cuz here I come!"

With that, Agent 4 crouched down, changed form, and Super Jumped up into the air toward the arena. Lily backed off quickly, inking her way around the closest block to get a safe distance.

Agent 4 splashed in, and immediately went on the hunt. "Here I come, Five!" She called as she followed Lily's ink trail.

Lily, however, was already starting to think. She rushed back around the corner _at Four_, causing her to jump back in surprise as Lily fired in her direction, rushing for another corner and diving behind it to avoid most of Lorne's return fire.

"Ooh, looks like Lily's defense is an offense," Callie commented over the radios, Four and Five hearing her as they fought.

"She can't push it too far though, and she knows it," Marie thought aloud. "Remember, Four's been up against all types of Octarians, so she's ready to deal with plenty of different strategies."

"I'm kind of excited to see what Lily might be capable of," Remo told the others. "What kind of fighting technique actual humans might bring to the table."

"God, way to pile the pressure on," Lily radioed in sarcastically. The spectators saw her come into view from the left, behind one of the blocks, and... she had her Hero Shot down? What was she doing...?

"Hey Fooourr..." Marie called, and Lily's head snapped up to see them, putting a finger to her lips. "Do you want us to let you know if we seeee her?"

They watched her look about frantically for a way to lose her trail. She saw that the next block across seemed slightly lower, and the dash pad she saw on it was operational. She seemed to get an idea, and ran toward it, _not_ firing her ink...

"Well, yeah. It's not a _stealth_ fight, is it?" Four responded.

"I disagree!" Lily said loudly. "One sec..." She ran, leapt over the trail of ink Four had left between her and the dash pad, bent her knees, and then launched herself at the wall and the pad, trying to get herself over the top and out of sight before Four saw her. The pad, designed for swimming squids and not inklings trying to 'parkour' up walls, launched her feet straight upward, causing her to flip, catch her head on the pad and the wall and be hurtled upward, up onto the block.

She crashed nearly head-first onto the top of the platform, causing the spectators to wince, but apart from a gasp of pain she managed to keep herself somewhat quiet. She laid there for just a moment, the pain from the crash coursing through her body. "Stealth..." she groaned painfully, "may just be one of the only tools I have to get the upper hand."

"You... OK, Five?" Remo called in.

"I'll live..."

"Wait, what happened? What am I missing?!" Four radioed in a panic.

"Don't tell her a fuckin' thing!" Lily hissed. She could hear her somewhere nearby, down below on the ground, so she forced herself up onto her feet, trying to peek over the edge.

Lorne was below her, near the middle, trying to find Lily's trail. After all, with Lily not inking, she had basically vanished. She stalked around, trying to get a sign of her.

And thankfully, she'd not seen her head peeking out just above her.

Lily grinned. She readied a bomb and lobbed it over the edge in front of Four, then jumped down behind her, Hero Shot blazing.

Agent 4 saw the Splat Bomb clank down in front of her, and jumped backward to avoid it, turning to run, but Lily was already there and firing right at her.

"Wait, what the-?!" was all she managed to get out, plus the reflexive fire of her own weapon, before she burst in a splash of ink.

Lily was knocked backward by Four's own blasts of ink, but she'd managed to pull it off.

One person down.

She made her way back to the side where the Agents were gathered. "And _that_," Agent 5 said with a grin, rubbing her sore head, "is why. It's more fun when the people down here have only their own information on where the target is."

"Not bad, not bad," Cuttlefish nodded.

Agent 4 came up to the ledge. "Well, I was only going a little easy on you, Lily. But _wow_, I knew you had potential after those failed attacks from the Octolings."

"No way you're gonna be able to pull that strategy off again though," Marie told her, stepping up to the edge with Callie, and holding her Charger up to the sky, the barrel leaning on her shoulder. Callie was doing similar with her Roller. "Especially since you'll be up against us next."

"What?!" Lily cried out. Then, realising they might launch at her at any moment, she called, "Wait, wait, before you get started! Just... can I explain what happened to Four?"

"Hmm? Ah, yeah, sure."

"Thanks. OK, so..." Five gestured at a dash pad on one of the blocks that faced them. "Yes, I got away with not inking to try to get up one of these things, but, _please don't_. I tried to basically jump up with the help of these boost things, no squid form, and it basically flipped me around and I smacked my head on the wall." She made a shrugging gesture. "I learn these things the hard way so you don't have to."

"Lily, you idiot," Lorne sighed and shook her head. "You really do need to take better care of yourself. You think you're right to keep going?"

"I mean, that's the whole point of this exercise, innit?" Lily readied her Hero Shot once again. "I can keep going."

"Well... alright, you asked for it." She stepped back, and left Callie and Marie at the front. "Girls, I defer to you."

"Thanks," Callie nodded at her. Glancing at Marie, she smirked. Time to go old-school. "Classic duo strat, Marie?"

Agent 2 nodded and grinned. "Sounds good. One of these towers should do the trick." Then she focused her eyes on Lily. "Better get moving, Five, 'cause here we come!"

Lily took that as her cue to leg it, inking up a path ahead and diving for it, swimming ahead as Marie leapt down, Callie Super Jumping into the arena on the other side.

As soon as Callie had touched down she was on the move, Roller down, inking toward the middle of the arena while keeping an eye on where she had last seen Lily, and trying to predict where she might appear next. A part of her was excited - this would be her first time seeing the ex-human in action.

Lily appeared quickly in front of her, looking out for them, and panicked, letting loose a burst of ink fire while she ran back to cover, Callie chasing after her.

Marie, however, took her time using her Charger to climb up the tallest platform nearby, and knelt down on top, observing from above. "Alright, One," she radioed in. "I'm in position. Guide me."

"Last seen in the north east quadrant," Callie replied, and Marie watched her go around. "Not here anymore, but shouldn't be too far off."

Marie observed the area opposite to her for a moment. As she watched, she saw Lily emerge from a patch of olive ink in the center-east of the platform and dash across for one of the armor pickups that they had left on each side of the arena.

Her charger built up pressure and quickly, Marie let loose a Charger shot that laid down a line of ink in front of Lily. "You sure you want that armor?" She called out to Five over the radio, with a smirk.

Lily turned to see her with the charger pointed at her, and her face dropped. Turning again to see Callie coming up fast through her ink, she made a run for it, turning squid herself and swimming back into the maze of blocks, leaving the armor behind. She intended to circle around, but another blast of Marie's charger cut her off.

Lily was gotten herself pinned down.

Marie waited patiently for Lily to appear from behind the big stone block she was trapped behind.

And Callie was already on her way over, her Roller inking a path through the center over to her. She silently turned to Marie and gestured. _I'll go in on the left._

Marie nodded and shifted her aim to the right. _Sorry, Lily,_ she thought to herself. _Once she flushes you out, you're through._ She keyed the mic. "Well, Lily, looks like this is it. I think the Captain will be happy with your skill level, though."

"Who says I'm done?" Lily said back, as Callie was rounding the corner.

"Marie! Look out!" Callie called in through the mic as a sky-blue Splat Bomb was kicked up into the air. Marie noted the impressive height as her aim snapped up, the blast from her Charger detonating the Bomb near the apex of Lily's throw. "Nice try, Five! I- huh?"

Suddenly the arena had gone dark, and what light was left had been turned blue. _What in the..._

"Hey! What just happened with the lights?!" Eight called in, Three and One voicing similar confusion underneath him.

_The lights..._ Marie glanced upward.

Lily's bomb, it seemed, _hadn't_ been lobbed toward her like she had thought. It had been thrown high up, and the ink from the detonated bomb clung to the giant bulb that illuminated the boss arena.

Cold ink. Hot glass. And a crackling sound...

Marie's eyes bulged. "Duck and cover!" she called as she dove off her tower, pushing herself up against the walls, minimizing the possible impact.

Callie didn't get the chance, as she was chasing Lily, out in the open.

With a loud cracking noise, the light globe exploded, and glass rained down upon the arena at high speed.

Spectators caught a glimpse of Callie bursting into a spray of ink with the rain of glass that bounced off the ground and the ink, as the arena was plunged into almost total darkness. Her glowing spirit rushed back toward them, toward the respawn point.

Marie cursed silently. It was an unorthodox move, but with it, Lily had managed to secure more time and weaken her team's attack. She began to stalk slowly, carefully around the arena, Charger up, ready to prepare another blast.

Cuttlefish whistled from the spectator platform. Most of Lily's tactics so far had been standard, but _that_...

"I heard her go, but, is Callie... OK?" Lily asked nervously over the radio.

"I'm fine!" Callie called in, having just respawned and walking up to the ledge. "That was... I can't say I expected that, Lily. Good work."

"How did she manage to get that Splat Bomb up so high?" Cuttlefish asked her, pointedly using the radios to keep Lily in the loop.

"She... man, she _kicked the bomb_ like it was some kinda ball."

"I can't track her anymore," Marie transmitted, edging carefully around a corner, keeping a charge ready. "Without the lights I'm kinda reduced to just listening for sound."

"Don't you _literally_ have a Point Sensor sub you rarely use?" Callie pointed out to her.

A pause. "...Yes. It's no good when I don't know where to put it, though."

The Agents up on the viewing platform began to notice something. After all, the only lighting around the area now was the Octarian city below, but they noticed another source of light moving around the boss platform. Pulsing light, in fact.

Marie began to notice it too, emanating from something past the block she had made it to, and it twigged as she watched the gentle light on the ground pulse in blue: _Lily's headphones were giving her away._ With a smirk, she quietly followed the light source around the corner, readying a shot.

"Come out, come out, whereever you aaaare..." Lily whispered into the radio, almost creepily. Clearly she thought Agent 2 would be on the back foot, but Marie was seeing things differently. Five must not have considered she was emitting light.

The Charger blast that shattered her shield, then, took her by complete surprise. She had been making her way over to an armor pickup out in the open, but she tried to run - er, swim - back behind cover as soon as she was shot.

Funnily enough, the red light particles that emitted from the Agent gear as it tried to rebuild its shield only made her _more_ visible, and Marie had the upper hand. Charging up another blast, before Lily was able to escape, Agent 2 blasted her one last time, and Five was out.

The exercise was over.

With a smile and sigh, Marie wiped her brow, and keyed her headset. "Target down," she said with a grin. "It was a good tactic, Lily, but it only made you more visible to us in the end."

"Excellent, excellent!" Cuttlefish proclaimed. "Well done, Agent Five."

They heard Lily respawning behind them, and turned to see her sigh and remove her headset. "Well... well done? I only made it through like, two of you."

"Yeah," Callie nodded, "But Marie and me have been doing this for years. Three, Four and Eight are already trained just through what they've been put through. And I'd say besides turf wars and the two times you've gone up against Octavio's forces you haven't had much practice yourself. That was natural talent you showed there."

"Preach it!" Marie called as she super jumped back up to them through Callie's signal. "You might not have been able to face us head on, but the fact that you made use of the environment and your own thinking to get around us showed promise. So, yes, Five. Well done."

The Squidbeaks hung about the platform and talked, and while answering questions Lily and Remo noticed activity below them. Three Octocopters were rising from the city below, and they seemed to be carrying a new globe. "Look out, we've got company," Remo warned, unholstering his Hero Shot.

"Hey wait, hang on," Lily said sharply, as the others turned to see the approaching Octarians. Eight glanced with concern at the other Agents. "I think they're just here to fix the light I broke."

Indeed, they watched as the 'Copters set the new light globe down, noticing the carnage that the Agents had caused, and with a tool they were carrying between the three of them, set about unscrewing the remains of the shattered light.

"We should maybe... leave before they notice we're here," Lorne pointed out.

"Good idea, Four. Let's go." Marie tapped on Callie's shoulder and headed over to the launchpad, and with Craig, Remo and Lorne, launched away.

Callie, Eight and Lily were left to watch them work briefly, but eventually Callie, too, turned to start back toward the Hideout. "Come on, Five, Eight. We should head home before the others start to worry."

Lily nodded, glanced at Eight, and the two of them followed the Squid Sister to the launchpad, rocketing after her.

* * *

Craig Cuttlefish saw the three approaching while he, Marie and Three caught up, Lorne listening quietly. He excused himself, and made his way over to Lily, pulling her aside briefly. Callie stopped and watched quietly.

"Is there an issue, sir?" Lily said with a furrowed brow.

"No, no," he said with a smile. "I just want to let you know that I've made a decision. One and Two have done well by keeping you close. While I'd like to see you train more, for someone who isn't a natural inkling, there's some talent and instinct there I'd like our team to help nurture."

"Well, thank you." Lily smiled. "I like to think there's more you guys can teach me than I could teach you."

"So, Agent Five... I will be organising with those girls from Off The Hook to take us to Tartar's resting place for you. But, being the leader of our group here, I should reaffirm our mission for you... Lily, are you willing to defend Inkopolis against threats to its people, and their way of life?"

Lily simply stared at him. She could see he didn't doubt her commitment to her new life now, but to ask this of her? She pursed her lips together, thinking. Of course the Squidbeak Splatoon - sorry, the _New_ Squidbeak Splatoon - was about more than just hanging out and collecting stuff. Could she deal with actively protecting Inkopolis's borders? It would certainly be a more interesting life than the one she'd led previously, but was she cut out for—

Cuttlefish smiled. "Excellent," he said suddenly. "I will be in touch." And he turned and walked back over to rejoin Marie's and Remo's conversation. Lily noticed that the two of them were _smiling_ at her.

Only later, after Lily and Lorne had returned to their apartment to figure out the rest of their day, did Agent 4 teach her the answer behind Cuttlefish's strange response.

Like with Agent 4, and Three before her, Captain Cuttlefish had taken her confused silence as a yes.


	19. Let There Be Light

Two days.

It had been over a week since Lily had talked to the Squidbeaks and Off the Hook about visiting Tartar's resting place, but now Marina had given her a timeframe, in her first text message to Lily.

This coming Friday, two days from now, Off the Hook would take the day off from the Inkopolis News studio and the three of them, with Lorne, Craig, Remo and Eight, would take the train out of Inkopolis heading north towards Camp Triggerfish, and from there head deeper into the forest on the public walking tracks.

From there, Marina explained to her, they would eventually diverge from the path when the foliage was at its thickest, and eventually make their way to a clearing.

This clearing was the resting place of Commander Tartar. And Lily would have as much time as she needed to ask him what she needed.

Lily had not been simply waiting, though. With the help of Lorne in Turf War, and more training alongside the Squidbeaks, Lily had surged all the way up to level 6, and had become fairly proficient in the Splattershot Jr., though perhaps not with its special.

But she was aching to try something new, to branch out. Plus, now she had the ability to buy new clothing for Turf War.

So, she, Lorne, and the Squid Sisters decided Lily ought to go for a shopping spree. To do that, she would have to re-enter a store she had avoided since a certain event at the New Albacore Hotel...

* * *

Sheldon's ears perked up as the door jingled open, early on a Wednesday afternoon, and after a moment to finish writing something down, he looked up, launching into his usual greeting. "Hi, welcome to Ammo Knights! What are you in the market for?"

"Well, y'know," said a voice he'd not heard in a while. "Looking to change up my play style."

Sheldon looked up, and saw the blue and orange tentacles of the two girls that had entered and were walking up to the counter. He blinked, realising with a start that Lily had entered his shop with Lorne and the Squid Sisters.

"L... Lily? Lily!" He rushed out from behind the counter to hug the inkling, surprising her and the other Agents. "Are... are you alright? I'm so sorry I..."

Lily blinked, still feeling a little upset at him, but she tried to put on a happier face, not wanting to disappoint him. "I'm fine, Sheldon. I... just needed some time to recover and get better."

"I'm really glad to hear that... I was just... really worried after you stopped speaking to me. I knew I'd messed up, but... Well, Marie's been keeping me in the loop in the meantime, and I'm happy to hear Pearl and Marina are changing their mind about you... But... yeah... Please forgive me, Lily."

"Uuuh..." Lily just stared down at the horseshoe crab whose head was pressed into her belly. "It's... it's okay, Sheldon. What happened back at the hotel was... It was just wild, we weren't gonna be rational. I'm over it though, I think. It's nice to know you care so much though."

"She's been okay, Sheldon." Lorne smiled and bent down to his level. "Yeah, she got roughed up and freaked out a bit, but she spent the last few days off the grid with me. She's doing alright now."

"A...alright." Sheldon stepped back, took a deep breath and a few moments to calm himself. "Well, uhm, how can I help you two today?"

"Lily just hit level 6 earlier today," Lorne told him with a grin. "She's interested in trying something new."

"Oh? Congrats, Lily! And so soon after starting to battle, too!" Sheldon knew full well that many people got there quicker, but there was no need to discourage the girl. "May I see your ID, please? I have to, it's just for verification purposes."

Lily handed over the card, and Sheldon scurried behind the counter to fetch his ID scanner. They heard a pleasant tone a few seconds later, and he came back around with the card. "Yep, I can confirm! So, Lily! Changing it up, you said? At this point you can wield a couple of new types of weapon. You unlocked the Splat Roller at level 3, being a modified paint-roller with a wide splash range, as well as the Splat Charger which is great if you have a decent accuracy and like to hang back. At level 4, you've unlocked the Splat Dualies, a set of two smaller weapons with a combined higher fire rate, and a propulsion system that allows for you to execute a speedy dodge roll!"

Sheldon took another deep breath, and Lily wondered just how often he must go through this spiel. "Lessee what else... Level 5 makes the Blaster available to you, trading fire rate for high damage compared to the shooter class, and you can also take the Slosher for a spin now." He gestured at the literal bucket on the wall. "Which I think needs no explanation."

He turned back around to the group and grinned at Lily. "I'd go more into detail, but look around you - you've got three experts in their class of weapon with you! I'm sure you'll find your weapon of choice, and don't be afraid to ask me if you still need information, or want to try any of these out on the range! Alright?"

"Sure thing, man." Lily shot him a thumbs up, and finally let herself smile.

"Okay then, I'll leave you girls to it!" The crab nodded and scurried back behind the counter to finish sorting coins into the register.

Lily almost didn't know where to start first - there was so much to think about! "God, where do I even start to look?" She wondered aloud.

"Why not consider a Charger?" Marie offered with a grin. "Take out your enemies from a distance."

"What about a Roller?" Callie grinned. "Lots of ink coverage, nice damage output, and it makes a nice blunt weapon in a pinch."

"Come on, girls," Lorne cut in. "Are you actually suggesting to her, or do you just want her to use your weapon?"

Marie raised an eyebrow at her. "I don't have an ulterior motive, Lorne. Though it'd be _nice_ to have another Charger user on the team."

"Just saying, all the two of you really know of Lily's strategy is that battle we had last week."

"Well, alright, Lorne, keep your hair on... Lily, what's your playstyle like?" Callie asked. "Lorne's got a point, maybe there's a particular type that might suit it."

"Well... in Turf Wars I'm like, a defensive or stealthy player," Lily said, thinking. "I've been trying to avoid fights when I can, just inking turf, but sometimes if I can't help it, I'll hide in my ink for someone to get close and just pummel them with the Splattershot Jr until either of us splat. In _video games_ though, that's another story. I kinda like to get in close, harass, pick off important targets, and get out real fast." She sighed happily. "I made a pretty decent Scout in my time... Not _great_, but _decent_. It was fun."

"Hmm..." Callie considered her. That tracked with the... odd way that Lily moved when the Cap'n had orchestrated his skill test. "The Roller _could_ be a good fit for you, as would the Slosher, both have good damage output when used effectively, but if you want to emphasize evasiveness, we should try the Splat Dualies on you."

"What are they like?" Lily eyed the display Dualies, propped up on a shelf.

"Well... we don't really know," Marie admitted. "Callie and I never really tried them, they came out way after we settled on the Charger and Roller. Lorne?"

"I ran with them briefly before I settled back into the shooter class, yeah." Lorne nodded. "They might work well on you, Lily. They're two smaller pistol-like weapons, so you could split or focus your fire as needed, and they have a button on each one that will jet you around a bit, so once you get the hang of using them, it's like an assisted dash to the side. Or forward or back. If you wanna harass and annoy someone on the battlefield, dashing around them and making yourself hard to hit is a good way to do it."

"Okay..." Lily thought on it for a moment. It seemed like it would be hard to get used to the 'dashing' Lorne was talking about, but if they assisted in mobility then perhaps... "Could I... test all three? See what works best for me?"

"I don't see why not," Marie said, tilting her head as she glanced over at Sheldon's counter. "Hey, Sheldon. There shouldn't be an issue with Lily testing out three of the weapons, should there?"

"Not at all!" Sheldon looked up from his work, grinning at them. "What did you want to try out, Lily?"

"I uh, I guess we're gonna see which of the Roller, Slosher or Dualies speaks to me..." Lily had gone back to acting shyly/embarrased, not wanting to take too much time out of Sheldon's day.

"Sounds good! Alright, follow me through the back to the shooting range, girls!" The crab gestured to follow him behind the counter.

* * *

Some time and plenty of testing later, Lily and crew left Ammo Knights carrying a case containing her brand new Splat Dualies. She was excited to try them out after putting them through their paces in the range, though she needed more time to practice using the dodge mechanism.

The next stop for the girls was the shop next door, Headspace. This shop didn't seem to be just a pun for a name, Lily saw as the door jingled open - while there were indeed plenty of hats and other headgear on display on head models and on racks, there were also plenty of other items around that gave Lily the impression that this was a place to relax. Giant cushions by a seating area near the back of the shopfront. A few small plants grew in pots around the room. Cloth and ornamental pots hung from the ceiling And there was a distinct aroma throughout the room, thick and sweet - though Lily was unsure whether that was a result of the scented reed sticks or the shop's owner, a creature that looked more like a witch to her than anything that used to live in the sea, wearing clothing that seemed slightly too big for her.

"Ah, welcome, little inkfishies," the creature said as she turned to meet them, her voice soft and kind. "Aah - the Calamari cousins - welcome back to my abode. And to you, my dear," she said to Lorne. "I can feel it, your aura has grown from experience since we last met. And your friend here," she turned to Lily, examining her and noticing her slight confusion. "She is new here, is she not? And yet, she is different. She is a breath of fresh air in this city."

"I think that's probably the nicest thing anyone outside of my friends has said about me," Lily breathed, slightly stunned.

After they had introduced her to Flow the sea slug and Craymond, the crayfish with seemingly no inside voice, Callie and Marie waited outside (Lily noticed as they left they had been holding their breath the whole time), while Lorne and Lily browsed through the supply available, from wide-brimmed hats to beanies to caps, glasses, and headsets.

The longer they browsed, the more Lily began to feel lightheaded and slightly intoxicated from the aromas in the shop. She started to realise this as she was trying on one of the short beanies, and eyeing a pair of on-ear headphones with the Squidfin branding. The inkling turned to Flow, who had been sat on one of the plush cushions in the corner. "H-hey…" Lily called quietly, more timidly than usual, her cheeks flushed involuntarily, "What is… this scent? It's nice but it's… starting to get a bit, overbearing…"

"Is it…? Oh, my dear little inkfish…" Flow gave a small smile. "I'm so happy that you like it. That would be a mixture of the floral scented oils I'm diffusing and my own natural scents."

"I see…" Lily blinked her eyes. "Well um, I should… come back another time and discuss those oils. It's… a very relaxing scent."

"C-come on Lily," Lorne said, tugging on her shoulder. She was less affected by the aroma, being more used to this store. "I'm not having anything this… strong in our home. Have you picked what you're getting?"

They left the shop a few short minutes later, with a paper bag with the Short Beanie _and_ the Squidfin Hook Cans she had been eyeing, and Lily gulped in the fresh air outside.

"You alright, Lil'?" Callie asked, concerned as they noticed her flushed face.

Lily took deep breaths, trying to clear her system. "I think I'm right. I just wasn't expecting it to be _that_ strong a scent inside…"

Lorne was watching over her. "Her pheromones were definitely strong today, whether she means 'em to be or not. It's probably good we got her out of there before too long. Though besides that," she glanced at Lily, "if she keeps that under control, I feel like those two might get along quite well."

"Well, more friends for Lily is always a plus," Callie said with a smile. "Shall we go get some clothes?"

* * *

When the girls left the shops of Inkopolis Square half an hour later to eat, the space underneath Lily's seat at their table was full of bags - Sheldon's Splat Dualies case, Flow's Short Beanie and Hook Cans, Jelfonzo's Pink Hoodie and Icewave Tee, and Bisk's Neon Sea Slug sneakers.

Jelfonzo had been... different, to Sheldon or Flow. His store was relatively minimal, but his quirky nature expressed itself in the way he talked - it seemed to Lily that he spoke with an Olde English-like vocabulary - indeed, his store was named "Ye Olde Cloth Shoppe" and he seemed to carry himself in a 'chivalrous' manner, _almost_ like one of those 'milady' types (when he didn't seem to be trying to insult her choice in clothing through his overly flowery language, which she understood and ignored).

Bisk, who ran the Shella Fresh shoe store though, seemed actually cool, if a bit too sporty for her taste. He was actually quite respectful, and as Lily and her friends tried to decide on which shoes would work for her, based on style and the ability infused into them - something Lily hadn't wrapped her head around yet, the idea of clothing amplifying an aspect of her play - he offered a few of his own helpful suggestions.

And now, as Lily, Lorne, Callie and Marie ate Seanwiches from Crusty Sean's mobile stall, they chatted happily about Lily's purchases and the journey she would be making soon.

"So, wait, what did you _think_ was outside of Inkopolis?" Callie prodded her between bites, after Lily had expressed some surprise that anything existed outside the city limits.

"I dunno! I kind of just assumed that _all_ of marine-kind just sorta lived here or in Octopia!" Lily sighed and shrugged. "I kinda thought that, y'know, the rest of the planet was like, uninhabited or uninhabitable or something."

"I mean, I think it's been stated in geography classes that like, 95% of sapient life lives around this part of the globe," Marie told her gently. "You're somewhat right in that the rest of it is basically uninhabited, but not so much for any bad reason. It's more that Inkopolis is the social hub for our kind."

"Yeah, there are a few towns outside of Inkopolis, within some hours' travel," Callie added. "Calamari County, for example, where Marie and I came from." She grinned. "There's a separate town right on the edge of Inkopolis that I believe your train will pass through, and it's way different to the many suburbs in the city. More traditional."

"Hey, speaking of, isn't there supposedly an artefact out around there? Maybe it's worth making a stop on your way there, or on the way back, and taking a look around for it."

"Oh yeahhhh." Lily nodded, remembering. Though she knew most of the human items she was seeking were around Inkopolis and Octopia proper, there was one item she knew of that was outside of the city. And depending on how far away this town was from the edge of Inkopolis, it _might_ perhaps be found there. If not... who knew what kind of environment she would have to traverse instead.

They continued to talk for a while, but they were soon interrupted by the voice of Sheldon, who was on his way over to them.

"Hello again!" he greeted them happily. "I'm glad I caught you before you left the Square - I've realised I've been needing to share this invention with all of you!"

"Invention...?" Marie asked. "If it's a weapon, it can probably wait til things are quieter."

"Not to worry, girls. This won't take long." Sheldon caught his breath. "Marie, Lily, Lorne. You may remember when all this began with Lily, Miss Marie had asked me to design a translator tool for the human language."

"Yes, I remember," Lorne nodded.

"Well, I think it's finally ready for testing!" Sheldon excitedly pulled out a case which he opened to reveal several singular earbuds, enough for everyone, minus one for Lily. "Well, it _maaay_ have been ready for a week, but, y'know... Please, take one and pop it in your ear. I'm tentatively calling it the 'Babelfish'... a name I'm sure Lily will appreciate."

Lily shot him a thumbs up and a grin.

"So, I'll need a demonstration, Lily. Could you please play the talk show episode you sent to me?"

"Uhhh... Sure." Lily pulled out her iPhone, glad to have it again. She quickly found her podcast app, and pressed play on the one Giant Bombcast episode she had had cached from 2018. And since she could, she skipped ahead to where the #FreeScott discussion had begun.

"_Alright, we_ were _gonna roll right into the regular news..._" the voice of Brad, the show's main host, begun, speaking through the phone's speaker. Of course, for now, Lily was the only one to understand him, and the other people - other humans, Lily corrected herself - that began to speak up after him.

"Whoa..." Callie gasped. She'd never heard a recording of a human voice before, none of them had. It was so much... different to their own. "This is wild... You used to sound like this, Lily?"

"You could...say that, I guess."

Sheldon let them all listen for a moment, letting them take in just how humans sounded unaltered. Lily noticed that he had a similar earbud in his ear, too. "Thank you, Lily. Keep that playing for now. Alright everyone, now I need you to feel around the underside of the earbud for a switch, and flick it on."

He switched his on, and everyone else did the same. For a few seconds, nothing seemed different.

But then, something seemed to click.

_"-Beast reached out to the host of HQ, which is the trivia app we talked about- Scott, uh-"_

_"Rogo? Rogo."_

_"They reached out to him like 'hey, what's up?'-asked him some questions, and at some point they contacted HQ and asked_ them _some questions, at which point..."_

The whole group of squids was quiet, eyeing each other as they listened to the banter. _Human_ banter. Three, maybe four humans in the same room, talking about a news article about _another_ couple of humans. Sheldon and Lily both smiled as the others realised that the alien words started to make sense.

"Holy shit, Sheldon..." Callie was the first to speak. "How- But they don't sound any different than before-"

"Correct." Sheldon grinned. "I'm proud of this - it's not directly translating the voices. Instead, using the data from the samples Lily has sent me, myself and a small crew of researchers and developers have made a tool that sends signals to the brain, telling you how to understand the language."

"That's incredible, Sheldon!" Lorne was visibly impressed. "This will open up so many avenues of research!"

"_'He cannot say that people want trivia!' is a quote that the founder of the HQ trivia app said to the Daily Beast,_" one of the human podcast hosts pointed out, which caused both Lily and Marie to laugh quietly, separate from the conversation.

"So feel free to take these with you," Sheldon said with a smile. "But keep them secret for now - I don't think these will be a mass-market product..." He turned to Lily. "I must let you know, Lily, that I'll be sharing the data we've created from your sample clips, and likely some of the clips themselves with the scientific community as a result of our development. No doubt they will want to teach your language in schools and the like. But rest assured, your voice and your name will not be coupled with what we have here."

"Sure," Lily nodded, relieved she would get to stay relatively unknown. "I get it. This is... a pretty big breakthrough, huh?"

"Absolutely," Callie nodded. "We're that much closer to translating your ancient materials and things. Now all we need is a cipher to read your written language... Nudge, nudge," she added with a little giggle.

"Another time," Lily chuckled. "Probably better that those 'discoveries' be a little separate..."

"Understandable," Sheldon nodded. "Well, I'm glad it seems to be working out... If I might, Lily... would you please say a phrase in your native language? I'd like to be sure that I haven't just tuned the translator to the voices of these specific people."

"Uhh..." Lily looked about nervously. "I guess..." She thought for a few moment, trying to decide on a phrase but her mind freezing up, put on the spot. The next words she spoke were in English, quoting an internet series from her childhood: "Everyone knows that auto mechanics tamper with the battery, so you have to go back to them in a week. But you can't do jack! Cause they're, y'know, tied! To the... mafia." Lily chuckled to herself afterward, amazed that after so long she still remembered the opening line.

"...Well, that's certainly not a phrase I'd ever expect Lily to say," Marie said in Inkling. "And I swear it doesn't sound completely correct, but I could understand all of the words."

"Yeah, nah, the original quote was like that," Lily told them. "It seems like your translator works pretty well, Sheldon. Awesome stuff."

"Thank you." Sheldon bowed. "Of course, I can't take credit for all of the work. I merely was the middle-man for all the voice samples that were used, and I suppose I designed the translator device based on the research of those I've been in touch with regarding this matter." He smiled warmly at Lily. "Now, their time will likely go toward collaborating with other federal departments to build a framework for teaching this language."

"Oh, for sure. Wait, what do you mean, federa— ohhh, of course Inkopolis has a government." Lily nodded. "Well, that all sounds fine to me. I think I'm about all set for this journey then."

"Excellent. I wish you the very best in your travels, Lily." Sheldon smiled warmly. "Have you figured out what you are going to ask this Commander Tartar creature?"

"Uh—" Lily was slightly caught off guard by his knowledge of Tartar, but she reassured herself that she should have realised he would know - the others would surely have kept him up to date. "Well... kinda. All I really planned was to ask if he brought me here, since I get the impression that's what Marina and Pearl think happened, how humans went extinct, and whether there was ever a way for me to return. Don't worry," she said as Callie and Marie raised an eyebrow at her, "Lorne and I have decided that I am not interested in going back. I just want to know."

"Hrmm." Sheldon nodded, a little concerned. "Well, if you get the chance, would you consider asking him where surviving human literature might be found?"

"Are you... even able to use that info, Sheldon?" Marie asked, with a slight frown.

"Not me, no." Sheldon shook his head. "But this human business has put me in touch with a group of researchers all working around the subject of humans and their history. If you were interested in speaking with them, they would know how to use that information best."

"Well, I could at least ask and relay the answer, but..." Lily paused, and her brows furrowed. "More than that, I'll get back to you on."

"That's all I ask. I get that you're still keeping quiet about your history, but I trust the staff on that project." Sheldon smiled at her. "They would take good care to keep your confidentiality intact and identity safe."

"That... sounds like they know about me already, Sheldon." Lily raised an eyebrow.

"Yes, well... as I was told, the right person in that institute recognised the blood and DNA samples that had been taken from you some time ago, and they got in touch."

"Hmm." Lily sighed. "Well, I guess I wasn't gonna be able to keep this secret from _everyone_ forever. But okay. Let me learn what I can from Tartar first, and then I'll consider what to do from there."

"Again, that's all I ask. That's all I wanted to know. I'll be taking my leave now. For what it's worth Lily, I hope you find out what you're looking for." Sheldon smiled, bowed, and left to return to his shop.

The girls watched him leave, and Lily leaned back in thought as the others resumed their meal.

And found herself wondering if there was any truth in fiction to the idea of 'alien' creatures being experimented on.

_Surely,_ she thought to herself, _I just daydream too much._


	20. Terminal March

Lily and Lorne awoke early on the day of their journey, as the sun was just rising.

It wasn't their choice - the schedule demanded they be at the station with Pearl and Marina around 9AM, as the train out of Inkopolis would leave shortly after then.

So at 7AM the girls were up and about, tiredly packing their backpacks. Out went everything that had been left before, and in went a change of clothes just in case, their Agent gear (Lorne insisted it was called a Hero Suit, but Lily wasn't fond of the idea of calling herself a 'hero'), and in Lily's case, her laptop and Hook Cans. They also attached their weapon cases onto a strap on the backpacks - one less thing they would need to carry by hand.

After each took a brief shower, Agents 4 and 5 left their apartment in a slight rush 50 minutes later, Lily worried that they might miss their train to the Square. They made it to the Inkopolis West station with a minute to spare, perhaps a sign that she had a point. But as they sat in their carriage, waiting the 15 or so minutes for them to get into Inkopolis Square, both girls exchanged text messages and schedules with Marina and Marie.

Callie and Marie would be meeting them at the Square to see them off, filling in for Off the Hook on news duties today, and were surely prepping for the morning broadcast at 9AM, their first broadcast in what must have been nearly two years.

Meanwhile, Pearl, Marina and Agent 8 would see them up ahead, at Inkopolis Central Station, the transport hub of the city. The City loop train would pass through there, and Lily and Lorne would disembark and cross the station to get to where regional trains would depart. Captain Cuttlefish and Agent 3 would board at a later stop.

So even as Agent 4 and Agent 5 sent texts out to update their friends, letting them know they were on their way, they knew that now they were on their train, they were on schedule. Marina had got it all planned out.

* * *

Indeed, as their train pulled into Inkopolis Station Square and they stepped out, Callie and Marie got their attention from further down on the platform, semi-hidden behind a vending machine so they didn't grab the attention of fans. As Lily and Lorne walked over, both Squid Sisters smiled and gave the girls a hug.

"Nervous?" Marie asked of Lily once they had hugged each other.

"Yeah, a little," Lily admitted. "I guess if somehow I don't find out anything, it'll still be a nice camping trip..."

"What about you two?" Lorne asked of the Squid Sisters. "Surely you're out of practice with the news stuff."

"I mean, of course we're nervous," Callie said with a little laugh. "But we also know it's going to be weird all around for viewers and staff, so I guess we'll have a bit of fun with it."

"Yeah, it's gonna be silly, but, y'know, considering what's been happening with us, and what the last major event we covered was..." Marie eyed Callie and smiled. "I think folks will be happy to know that we're still doing well."

"True that." Lily smiled. "Good luck with it, girls."

"And you with your little adventure," Callie said, and grinned. "Those regional trains have some nice private compartments, so all of you should have plenty of privacy to chat whatever."

"And usually they aren't that busy either, at least once they get out of Inkopolis," Marie nodded. "So if you need space, I get you need that sometimes, you can get that pretty easily."

"Thank goodness." Lily breathed a sigh of relief. "I mean, I know there's gonna be a lot of us there, so... knowing that is a relief."

The sound of another train pulling in caught Lily's attention. The next City Loop train was here. "Well, guess we better get moving..." she said, turning back to the Sisters. "Good luck with today, girls."

"You too. Good luck with Tartar, Lily." Marie smiled, and she and Callie waved them off as they all started to move. "We'd better get back to the studio. We're due on soon."

"We'll be sure to tune in!" Lorne giggled, sticking her tongue out as she and Lily peeled off to get on the train, waving back.

The two girls found their seats in the middle of a packed carriage, and sat their backpacks underneath the seats as the train pulled away from the station, and began its trek. There weren't too many stops between the Square and Central, Lily was relieved to see as she glanced at a station map on the opposite wall. Still, she got comfortable, looking around the carriage at all the busy faces.

* * *

Another fifteen minute ride saw them pulling into Inkopolis Central. Glancing out of the window as she and Lorne stood, amongst several other passengers to disembark, Lily was wowed by the size of the station.

They exited the train onto a platform onto one end of the station and headed toward the main station area. Train platforms lined one end of the station, several platforms seemingly dedicated just to the City Loop and several inner city lines. The rest of the platforms serviced areas toward the edges of the city, and only two platforms, on the other end of the station, serviced areas outside of the city.

The entire station itself - the platforms, customer service, and a few shops and food venues - were covered by a roof that undulated across the entire space, like a corrugated metal sheet, or... gentle ocean waves. Lily realised it was probably the latter the designers must have been going for. It was a soft blue color, and lights across each low section of roof lit up the space brightly. It was an impressive piece of building to Lily.

"Hey, it's Lorne." Lily glanced up to her girlfriend. She was on the phone, to Marina she supposed. "We just got into the station. Platform... 8 it looks like. Where are we meeting?" There was a pause as she listened to the response. "Sounds good, we'll meet you there for a quick brekkie. Seeya in a bit." She hung up and turned to Lily.

"Oh yeahhh, right, food," Lily nodded, and chuckled. "Sorry to eavesdrop. Where we headed?"

"There's a small cafe storefront in the station near the platform we're headed to. Follow me." Lorne smiled and they both walked across the station, past the different platforms, and towards a small café stall surrounded by tables.

Some of those tables were occupied with patrons, drinking their hot drinks and eating their breakfasts or meals.

One of those tables was occupied by Marina, Pearl, and Agent 8.

They were all in more casual clothing today. Marina was sporting some light denim jeans, a crop-top of sorts and a du-rag headband, while Pearl was in a pink hoodie (that looked slightly too big for her, Lily noted, to where she could barely see Pearl's shorts peeking out from underneath) and, oddly, a crown. Both girls were also sporting thick necklaces with their own symbols, which Lily now recognised were the iris shapes of the Octolings in Marina's case, and the Inklings in Pearl's. They looked very 'bling-y' in Lily's eyes.

Agent 8 was dressed more simply - he wore a Grape Hoodie, currently pulled up over his head. He also carried a backpack, like Agents 4 and 5 were. Lily wondered what he might be carrying - his weapon, surely, though she couldn't see a case on his pack... clothes? Did he _have_ Agent gear yet? The only thing she remembered him having in the way of clothing was that tight-fitting black outfit...

Marina was the first to notice the girls as they approached, and waved them over. "Hi girls! Glad you could make it!" Pearl and Eight turned in their seats to see them, and Pearl nodded in greeting while Eight raised an open palm to acknowledge Four and Five.

"Of course we were gonna make it," Lorne commented as she and Lily pulled over two chairs from a neighboring table to join them, taking a seat. "Lily was stressing over leaving on time," she teased, putting her arm around her partner's shoulder.

"To be fair, I did that in the past too," Lily sighed. "Just... y'know, this is important to me. Thanks for coming out with me, guys." She smiled. "I'm still a little surprised you're coming with us, Eight," she noted, raising an eyebrow.

"I get to learn more about the surface," Eight shrugged. "And I get to learn about you."

"Oh, man. Speaking of getting to know you..." Pearl turned to look over at Lily. "Did Sheldon show you the thing he was doing with those earbuds?"

"Uh... yeah." Lily raised an eyebrow. "Why, do y'all have- yep, you sure do," she cut herself off as Pearl tugged off her hood and Marina lifted one of the headphone ears away, showing off their own earbuds. "I guess that's not terribly surprising."

"Well, it's good timing on Sheldon's part," Marina noted with a smile as she gestured for Pearl and Eight to get up, and the lot of them grabbed their bags. "If we're gonna be eavesdropping on your conversation with Tartar, it's good we can make sure we understand what's being said..."

"I mean, sure I guess..."

The chatter continued as the group of five headed back down to the platforms, Marina guiding them to the train they would be riding. It looked slightly older than the one Lily and Lorne had ridden just before, but it was also longer and slightly wider.

As they stepped on board, Lily saw why - Though there were carriages with rows of seats like Lily was used to, one of the carriages they stepped onto was one long corridor, with small rooms to one side for travellers preferring more privacy. Marina stopped in front of one of them, turning to the group. "Well, here we are. This compartment's ours for the day. Shall we?" She slid the door open and stepped inside.

The compartment was a good size for five passengers. Two large seats, enough to sit three and a bit people each, were on either side of the space, and above them were luggage racks, which the group set about lifting their gear into the space. There was also a small table space next to each seat, and a cupboard underneath it which contained pillows and a blanket - no doubt for extended journeys.

Pearl and Marina took one side, and as Eight moved to join them, Marina shook her head, but smiled at him. "Come on, Eight. You hang out with us most of the time already. It's not gonna kill you to sit with Four and Five."

Eight stopped, a look of confusion and slight worry on his face. He slowly turned to Lily and Lorne. Quietly he began, "Is... is it okay if I—"

"We're not gonna deny you a seat, Eight," Lorne replied, and smiled. "But thank you for asking anyway. Come on, let's get comfortable." She sat window-side, with Lily in the middle, and Eight took the other end.

As they settled in, checking phones and making polite chat, the train's conductor came on over the broadcast system. "Welcome, passengers, to your 9:10 service through to Calamari County. This service will be stopping at all city stations, Dopefish Fields, Triggerfish Station, and should be arriving into Calamari County Station at approximately 6PM. Please make yourselves comfortable and have your tickets ready for presentation, this train will depart in two minutes."

As the train pulled away from Inkopolis Central and into the city, the five got comfortable, making idle chatter and tapping away on phones. Lily tried to relax, holding the phone in her hand as she watched the inner city pass by through the window.

"Well, here we go," Marina said, and smiled at Lily and Lorne, drawing their attention. "Excited, Lily?"

"Nervous, more like," Lily said with a sigh, and Eight glanced over at her. "But I am curious to see what the world outside of this city is like."

"Huh, I figured working alongside the others on your team, you'd've seen most of the surrounding areas." Marina raised an eyebrow. "Or at least Octopia, anyway..."

"Yeah, nah." Lily shook her head. "I mean I've seen parts of it, the Canyon of course, and one of those habitation domes... But we figured out I needed more training before I went back out there, being so... new, to everything."

"Right, right."

"One of those things I'm looking for is just outside of the city limits, and then there's something else in Grizzco territory, but it hasn't been—"

"OOH!" Marina squealed. "We should invite you on a Salmon Run shift some time!"

"A... what?" Lily looked at her in confusion.

"That's what the Grizzco shifts are called, kid," responded Pearl. "Though it's waaaaay different to what you're used to."

"I'm sure." Lily nodded, and left it at that briefly, then started up again, realising something. "Okay wait, so, Grizzco. Operates in the ocean, has swathes of territory restricted so only they can use it, supposedly all their workers are casually employed," she gestured at Pearl and Marina as she said this, "and how the hell do you get 'Power Eggs' from… salmon? Are these salmon electric or something? What's this company's deal?"

"Nah, they're just dangerous," Lorne pointed out to her.

"Oh, good, that's fine then." Lily said sarcastically as she turned to Four. "_What does that mean_."

"So like, Mr. Grizz is _kiiiinda_ sketchy and really wants those Golden Eggs the Salmonids lay," Pearl started. Eight seemed to be listening in too. "But if we just let them breed, then they'll eventually overrun us. They're really aggressive."

Marina continued, "Those Power Eggs also do contain a bit of energy in each of them, so it helps the city and the environment. And Grizz does tend to pay the hard workers better, sometimes better pay per shift than a Turf War game in the city. So it's a mutual benefit."

"And he employs people of all skill levels," Pearl nodded with a grin. "Though… he does go through a lot of staff."

…What does _that_ mean?!" Lily asked in a slight panic. "Do people _die_ doing this?! How does he get away with th—"

"Oh! No, no, nobody dies," Marina hurriedly reassured her. "Though, I've heard stories of crews being left on-site for extended periods of time as 'punishment' for getting wiped out, or not securing enough eggs…"

"Christ," Lily gasped, not really reassured in the slightest. "All that's telling me is I want to spend as little time working for him as possible to find the item that's there. Assuming he hasn't found and pinched it for himself."

"Yes, I'm… not sure I would want to work for him either," Eight noted, and Lily saw he was wide-eyed.

"Glad we could agree on something, Eight," Lily commented.

The conversation continued for a few minutes, veering from topic to topic and eventually was interrupted by another announcement as the train began to slow. "This train will shortly arrive into Inkopolis Plaza. Inkopolis Plaza is our next stop."

"Oh!" Marina said, and jumped to her feet. "I'll be back, guys. This is Remo and the Captain's stop." She waved out of habit as she slid open the compartment door and stepped outside.

"Lemme know if they still have that Squid Beatz cabinet!" Pearl yelled after her. To the others, she said, "Hope they do… I still head over to the Plaza some days to grind out the top scores."

There was a lull in the room as Lily, Lorne and Eight tapped on their phones idly.

"So, yo, Lily," Pearl started up again, with a curious look. "Were you ever gonna tell us you used to be a boy?"

Lorne looked up and glared at Pearl, while Eight's head snapped to look at Lily in shock and horror.

"No," Lily responded with a grumble. "That was my past life. It'd only have come up if a story from my past demanded that context. How'd you find out?"

"Was in Cuttlefish's file," Pearl replied nonchalantly. "D'you miss it?"

"Not particularly," Lily said flatly. "Well, I sometimes miss one particular part…" She crossed her legs. "But my identity and life never really corresponded to what gender I was." She shrugged. "I guess in a sense though, being a girl now has made me happier with myself. For the record, I do see that look you're giving me," Lily said as she turned to Eight, who was expressing grave concern. "My previous appearance has nothing to do with my current personality. I was always the same person, Eight, just, I have a more appropriate look now."

"I… think I see," Eight said slowly, and Lily got the impression he was not quite grasping the idea. She noticed him glancing down at her hips. "So do you not have a…?"

"_No_," she said firmly. "No, I don't. I'm pure girl now. I used to before I changed, yes. I don't anymore."

"…Okay," said Eight, and seemed to let it go.

"So, what, with you and Lorne palling around," Pearl started again, "does that make you gay, or straight or…?"

Lily snorted. "I think biology dictates that makes me gay," she said with a laugh. "But I never really cared for labels along those lines. I love who I love. And that just happens to be her," she finished, and smiled at Lorne. "And she knows, of course, and accepts that."

"Eh, alright." Pearl shrugged, and left it well alone.

Lily noticed the train was starting to move again, and though she smiled and simply went back to using her phone, she was feeling a little uncomfortable. _Well, the next couple hours are bound to be a barrel of fun_, she remarked in her thoughts.

"Uh, hey, sorry kid," Pearl said, leaning in, noticing Lily didn't seem quite OK. "I guess I shouldn't have asked like that. I was only, y'know, curious."

Lily thought on those words for a moment. "I'm… not sure there's any nice way to directly broach that subject, I guess. Just, to hit me with that right out of the gate though?"

"Right outta what?" Pearl was confused. "What kinda saying is that?"

"Heh, don't worry about it. I think you got what I meant."

"Hey, look who's here!" came the voice of Marina as the door into their compartment opened, revealing Captain Cuttlefish and Agent 3. The two stepped inside, followed by Marina, as everyone greeted them. Marina and Craig sat down on Pearl's side, leaving Remo to sit/lean against the cupboard next to them.

"Hey guys!" Lorne said, and she, Eight, and Pearl waved them in. Lily did a small salute. "Doing well this morning?"

"Not too bad, Agent 4, not too bad." Craig rested his cane in front of him. "Ready to get down to business, is what I am."

The gang chatted and hung out as the train headed toward the edge of the city, even as Marina convinced Lily to put her music library on shuffle.

While the carriage bobbed their head to acapella video game music, to techno, to electronic, to synthwave, the buildings outside gradually grew less tall, less dense, and the landscape became more green, less flat. Lily didn't realise it initially as they finally left Inkopolis, until she looked outside and suddenly saw green, green fields, trees, and farmland stretched off toward the horizon.

Lily stared out of the window in awe. Lush countryside. It was _beautiful_. She had missed this. She had a dumb smile on her face as she watched the world pass by.

"Lovely out there, isn't it?" Craig said with a knowing nod, watching her face.

Lily nodded slowly. "Makes me miss taking trips through areas like this, hours and hours of farms, and mountains, and flat land stretching toward the horizon..." She looked away, toward the Captain. "I love it in the city, I can tell it's where I need to be. But it's comforting to know the world can still be beautiful on its own terms."

She gave a cheesy smile, then, thinking, got up and rummaged through her bag for her laptop, pulling it out and sitting back down. On her way back down, she noticed that Eight was also staring out the window, and his expression was one of awe. "What's up, mate? You look like you've never seen the countryside before."

"He hasn't," Marina pointed out, turning away from the window. She had also been watching the scenery pass by. "Neither did I, until recently. Since the Great Turf War, Octarians have all lived underground... or in places like the Octo Valley, the Octo Canyon. We would've killed for such serene scenery."

"Your ancestors did," Craig pointed out, and sighed. "I suppose ours as well. It really is a shame the rising waters led to such bloodshed... How lucky for your kind, that the underground turned out to be so habitable."

"Wait... rising waters?" Lily glanced over to Craig and Marina.

"The levels have stabilised for now," Marina said, but nodded. "And have been for around a hundred years. But, yes. Many of our species' original settlements have been lost just due to the lost land. I think most of the remaining human ruins are also submerged."

"Huh..." Lily bit her lip. She had a feeling that she knew who was still responsible for that. She glanced down at her laptop. It had finished booting, and now sat at a standard Windows desktop. She searched for her music DAW, and let it load up. _Since Off the Hook are here,_ she thought, _let's see if they will be into this..._

"What system is this?" Eight asked curiously, peeking over her shoulder at her screen, as attention turned back toward the music playing off Lily's iPhone.

"Oh, uh, this is... I haven't updated to anything from this time," Lily told him quietly. "It's an old operating system. I've got some stuff on there that I'm not quite finished with." She looked at the screen, and grinned - her last project, the one this world's music had inspired her to create, had loaded.

She let the acoustic sound of 'You Oughta Know' fade, then stopped the phone from playing any more music, for the time being, starting playback of the project, the beginning of Madeon's 'Cut The Kid' playing out. "Oh hey, this song!" she proclaimed, pretending it was still music being shuffled. "Wow, this reminds me of one of your songs, actually," Lily said with a grin to Off the Hook.

"Does it?" Pearl said with a raised eyebrow, and listened closer. The first beats played, and as she listened to the melody of the sampled piano closely, she started to notice something. "Yo, Marina. Doesn't that piano kinda sound like it's doing the Color Pulse thing?"

"Hey, yeah, I think it is!" Marina grinned. "Nice find, Lil—"

Then Color Pulse itself kicked in over the top of Cut the Kid, a funky mashup of the two, and Lily couldn't help but grin.

"Whoa! What's... Oh! You cheeky thing!" Pearl grinned back, realising immediately what she was listening to, hearing Marina's and her own voice over the top of the track. "You did this? Nice! You gotta send that to us!"

"I never thought I'd hear our music and... human music blended together like this," Marina said in wonder. "Never in my life. So, that mean you're _also_ a musician?"

"Eh... not really." Lily shook her head. "I just like to mess with songs that are already done and do something weird with 'em. Honestly my talents lie in... a couple different places, and while I like making these they aren't what people knew me for."

"What _do_ people know you for?"

Lily opened her mouth to speak, then stopped.

And thought.

And thought.

She couldn't think of a single thing. She hadn't been known for anything.

She finally just murmured "nothing" and let the track play out.

"Really? You gotta promote yourself, kid." Pearl sat back. "All this music you been playin' today, right? There'll be an audience for this. Not just some stuffy historians. But remixes, mashups, whatever, like these? Blending the past and the present together? _THAT_'s worth a show."

"I promise ya, Pearl," Lily replied, as the mashup finished, and her hands moved to resume the phone's music playlist. "I've been daydreaming playing my mashups and DJ sets live for ages."

"Well... maybe this is the time to make it work." Marina smiled. "Just something to consider when this is all over."

Lily nodded, and smiled. She let herself fall silent for a while, and listen to the other conversations going on around them, between Lorne, Craig, and Remo.

Today, all of them were friends.

* * *

At around 12:30PM, the tannoy announced the train's imminent arrival at Triggerfish Station. The first half of their journey was at an end.

Everybody in the compartment packed up their things, aside from Remo, Craig and Eight, who had never taken out anything but their phones.

As they slowly made their way from the room out into the train corridor, waiting for the train to stop at the station platform, Lily glanced at Agent 8. She was pleased that she and him seemed to be getting along, at least a little better - it turned out that he enjoyed looking at and dissecting all sorts of technology, and that gelled with her own love of tech. Finally, she had something in common with him.

Lorne came up behind her. "How ya feeling, hun?" she asked her, gently squeezing her hand.

Lily turned to her and smiled. "Better. That was a fun train ride. Never thought I'd say that before. But _god,_ I'm glad to finally get out of that packed room."

"Hah!" Lorne pat her on the back as the group lurched forward, the train coming to a halt, the doors opening.

And one by one, Pearl, Marina, Craig, Remo, Lorne, Lily and Eight stepped off the train onto the Triggerfish Station platform.


	21. Vivid Memories Turn To Fantasies

The group of seven stepped out of the train onto the platform of Triggerfish Station.

It was a small, quiet station, with just enough platform for the train, and a singular terminal for ticket purchases near the platform exit, by which a wooden sign signalled 'This way to Camp Triggerfish!'.

The station was surrounded by great pine trees, towering over them, and the pleasant scent of pine needles and nature wafted in their direction. Lily took a deep breath, and sighed happily. _The world is still beautiful..._

She followed the group as they headed down the lone dirt path through the trees, already seeing a structure not too far off. Wooden towers and ramps... "Hey, anyone know what that thing is up ahead?"

"That's Camp Triggerfish!" Pearl said with a grin. "Where all the young squids go for a new adventure! Plus it's a battle stage sometimes."

"Not at the moment though," Marina chimed in as the path took them along a lake, upon which was Triggerfish's battle stage. "It's not on the schedule for a few weeks, so it'll be nice and quiet today."

"Good thing, too," Craig remarked. "Since we're on official business."

Camp Triggerfish, at least from what Lily saw from the sidelines as they ventured past, seemed like the 'summer camps' she would see on American cartoons and video games. Camp fire pits, wooden buildings, and the idea of being 'one with nature'... or was that 'conquering nature'? It seemed like more of the former here.

The structure that Lily had first seen was Triggerfish's battle stage. It was built and suspended over a lake (by who and how, Lily wondered) where, she supposed, the campgoers could unwind and make a mess.

On the other side of the lake, past a set of dormitories, was a set of public toilets, and there Craig called the group to a halt. "Alright, Agents. We should take this opportunity to get into gear. Use these bathrooms here, get into your Hero Suits, and these ladies and I will be waiting out here."

"Now seems like a good time for it," Lorne agreed. "Alright, Lily, let's get changed." She made her way into one of the bathrooms, and Remo quietly made his way to another. Eight followed behind them, following Craig's instruction.

"I'll be with you in a sec," Lily called, then turned to Craig. "I know this is rather spur of the moment, but I think it may be best if I _didn't_ change."

Captain Cuttlefish looked at her with concern. "I can't say I understand your reasoning, Five."

Lily nodded. "Well, I'm thinking about it like this, sir. Tartar has met and... used Agent 3 already. He knows what the Agent gear would look like. If I face him looking like that, I think he might get aggressive."

"Ohhhh." The idea seemed to dawn on Pearl. "I think I get it. If you don't _look_ like one of the Agents, then you could sell your story better and he might be willing to part with info. Clever, Lily."

Lily grinned. "Exactly."

"Well..." Craig scratched at his beard. "That is certainly a thought." He thought for a few seconds. "Alright, Lily. I think you may be right. Let's see how that goes."

Lily nodded at him. "I think it will work in our favour."

Once the other agents had returned, now dressed in their respective gear (Agent Eight using the old uniform he had worn in the Deepsea Metro) and carefully holding their weapons, the group followed the walking trail as it headed past Camp Triggerfish and further into the forest.

As they travelled deeper and deeper into the forest, the trees and bushes grew gradually more dense the dirt path and the light grass of the forest grew more and more littered with pine needles and leaves. As a result, the sunlight overhead grew dimmer and dimmer as the canopy obscured more and more of the sky.

The terrain also became less flat as the walking trail took them along the side of one of the mountains nearby, and the group carefully passed by streams of water running along the path, steep hills, and at one point crossing a sturdy wooden bridge across a valley.

Over forty minutes had passed overall before Marina declared a stop, and sat by the edge of the path, after having reached a small flat stretch of path and soft grass. "I need a few moments. My legs are killing me."

As the others took the opportunity to also rest briefly, Pearl walked over and argued quietly, "Come on 'Rina, you did this last time too! We need to push on! This ain't some vacation!"

"Just look at the others, though!" Marina gestured at the rest of the group. "It's only a few minutes, Pearlie. Tartar's not going anywhere."

"Yeah, but wouldn't you wanna get it over with though? He still creeps me out. C'mon, we'll be in and out in no time."

"Pearl..." Marina sighed. She knew that this was something Pearl couldn't quite understand. And she didn't quite have a handle on all of it either. But, having once been the only Octoling in Inkopolis, maybe she was closer to knowing what Lily was going through. "Lily is probably going to spend plenty of time talking to him, whether she wants to or not. You know he's got the only answers. She knows how much time has passed. And I don't think her fellow agents will just let you leave her out here to go home."

Pearl looked at her, and sighed, and sat next to her. "I know... I do feel bad for her. I just... want to _get_ there. The journey's cool and all, but the destination's why we're all here... I'll try to chill out a little more tho, 'Rina."

Marina looked at her, and laughed. "Y'know, Pearlie. If we ever had an opportunity to design our own Splatfest, that'd be an interesting topic to battle over."

"Ha, the destination versus the journey? Perhaps..."

Once everyone had had a few moments to rest their legs and catch their breath, they set off again, Pearl reassuring the others that they were not far away from their goal.

Another ten minutes passed of walking through the forest, venturing deeper. They had not seen a single form of life since they had left the train. Even as they passed gentle streams and the occasional massive tree, Lily felt a slight unease, but could not understand what it was.

As they passed around a hill, Pearl called them to a halt again, by a cluster of rocks leading down the hill. "Alright folks, we're detouring. We're following these rocks down, then we'll head straight forward til we start hitting markers me and Marina placed down to guide us the rest of the way."

"This is... quite out of the way," Remo commented, glancing down the hill.

"Well we didn't want _anyone_ to accidentally discover him, especially if they could be manipulated." Marina shrugged her shoulders. "And the further he is from Inkopolis and NILS, the better, I reckon."

Pearl and Marina made their way down the rocks first, followed by Lorne and Lily, Agent 8, then Remo carrying the Cap'n carefully.

The five Squidbeaks kept their eyes forward as they followed behind Off the Hook, watching for these 'markers' that would tell them they were headed in the right direction. Now they were off the path, and were stepping carefully through the foliage, over leaves, around fallen branches and attempting to avoid hidden dips in the ground.

Pearl's markers came into play a hundred meters off the beaten path, in the form of leaves that had been stuck onto the bark of the bigger trees at about hip height - obvious enough to those looking for them, but it would blend in enough for folks to casually miss them.

The sun had fallen from its midday point, and now there were hardly any patches of clear sunlight, making the forest trek that much darker. The foliage had also become much more dense in this part of Triggerfish Forest, to the point that the bushes and shrubs obscured much of the way off this makeshift path they had made - the experience becoming more claustrophobic as a result. This was not an issue for the crew, but Lily and Eight could feel the mood shifting around them.

The path continued on this way for another ten minutes - they would reach one marker, Pearl and Marina would take off in some contrived direction, and the others would not know why until the next marker was close enough to grab their attention.

Finally, Marina called them to a halt in an area where there was slightly more room between the trees and bushes than there had been. "Alright everyone, I think we'll settle down here. Let's relax and get comfortable."

Lily, Remo and Lorne glanced at them, suspicious, nervous. "Just how far _is it_ to this guy?" Lily asked Marina, biting her lip.

"Well, actually..." Marina smiled, and gestured ahead. "He's just another hundred meters or so that way. _We're_ setting up here so there's no chance he knows we're around."

Lily's eyes widened in surprise, then nodded, turning more serious. "So... here we are then, huh?"

"Yep..." Marina rested a hand on Lily's shoulder. "Tartar awaits. For what it's worth, I hope you find your answer."

"Yeah, you got this, Five," Remo said with a smile.

"Are you sure I can't come with her?" Lorne pouted.

"I'm sure you could, Agent 4," Marina told her, "but I get the impression he'd not tell Lily anything around us, even if he _was_ convinced she was human."

Lily sighed heavily, and looked over to the path through the last shrubs and trees that awaited her. "And you're sure he can't hurt me?"

"Well…" The Octoling idol thought on it. "If he's hiding any last tricks, me and Pearlie hadn't seen it, and we lugged him all the way out here."

"Mmm. Well… Okay." Lily walked over to Lorne, and the two embraced, kissing briefly. "I'll be back soon."

"I know you will, Lily." Lorne smiled. "Give him what for."

"Don't forget the radio, kid," Pearl reminded her. "We'll hang back here so we can listen in safely."

Lily nodded, looked over toward the end of the path, and started to make her way forward, waving behind her.

Craig and Remo smiled, the former giving her a thumbs-up.

Eight's and Lily's eyes met, and they nodded in mutual respect.

Lorne threw out a thumbs-up and a wide smile.

Pearl stood with her arms crossed but a smile on her face, and Marina waved back, also smiling.

As Lily pushed her way forward into the trees and plant-life, leaving her team behind, she found herself feeling proud that they were all behind her.

* * *

She heard the quiet chatter of the group behind her fade underneath the whoosh and whistle of wind through the trees the further out she ventured.

The markers were much closer now as the dense foliage returned, a sign to Lily that her destination was imminent.

Her nerves began to flare up again.

_This was insane_, she told herself.

She was going to meet the would-be destroyer of the world.

And _talk to him_. Pretend to _be on his side._

_God, I can't believe I'm actually doing this... When did my life become a fuckin' cartoon...?_

For the first time, she became aware of the sound of the forest, what she could hear.

Or rather, what she _couldn't_.

Something hadn't felt quite right as she had ventured with the group, but now that there was nothing but the forest to listen to, she was finally able to pinpoint what it was.

_There were no birds._

She had seen the occasional bird in the city, but it was just... strange to not hear any sort of bird calls or general chirping out here. She had expected not to see any animals, but to just hear the wind, the creaking and cracking of trees and branches, and nothing else made the place feel... almost dead, like she was wandering an empty world.

She reached the final marker. A few bushes obscured the final steps into Tartar's domain.

This marker was accompanied by a signpost beneath it. White text on a red background proclaimed "DANGEROUS ENVIRONMENT AHEAD - TURN BACK".

Oh, how she wished she could.

She sighed, took a few deep breaths. She reached for the radio Pearl had given her, and pressed and engaged the transmission lock.

Now everything she said and heard would be sent back to the group behind her.

Now there was nothing else to do but... meet him.

With another deep breath, she pushed through the bushes, and emerged into a forest clearing.

Trees were dotted in a rough circle around this large space, and light streamed in through the canopy here.

And with the sunlight, lush, soft grass grew all over the open space.

It was a pretty sight.

There was something odd about it all, though.

The old-timey telephone box, perched motionless on a single tree stump across from her.

Commander Tartar, so Lily had been told.

If she had to guess without prior knowledge, it would have come from the 1940s or 50s. Two bells sat on either side, which she imagined a hammer would have rung when a call came in. The speaker, which was an old-timey brass piece you would hold to your ear, sat underneath, like a mouth. A handcrank hung from its side, and Lily wasn't immediately sure what it was for.

She wondered, though, if people at the time knew they were making something that looked slightly anthropomorphic.

The telephone box had been busted quite badly. Gaps in its paneling exposed its inner workings. From a distance, she couldn't make out what was inside.

But she could see the strange greenish ooze that had leaked from a small gap in the bottom of the panel onto the tree stump, and pooled down on the ground.

Lily had no idea what it was, and it only kept her nerves up.

He was placed facing the path Lily had just emerged from. She watched the telephone carefully as she approached, but so far he made no motion or sound.

She briefly wondered whether he _didn't_ know she was here, if he was saving power or something.

But as she got within ten meters of the telephone box, its features almost seemed to contort as a tinny voice rang out, modulated as if spoken from…a telephone. "State your business, seafood."

_Seafood? Really?_ Lily slowed, but continued to make her way toward him. "So _you're_ the one giving us humans a bad name. I figure if—"

"Who is 'us humans'? You are not." The telephone's speakers contorted, rotating on an axis almost as if he was rolling his eyes.

Lily had expected not to be believed and had thought about how she would introduce herself on the last stretch of forest. Stopping before him, lowering the hoodie's hood, she took a deep breath, briefly speaking in English. "I am aware of my appearance, but I assure you I am human by heart."

"I beg your pardon?" Tartar eyed her suspiciously. It almost seemed to her like he was _daring_ her to keep that up.

Lily continued, speaking fluent English (though with a slight warble, her inkling accent): "I am a human from the year 2018. I was brought here to this time and I'm not sure why."

Tartar eyed her carefully. Then, in English, he demanded: "Who _are_ you to come here and pretend you are one of us? How _dare you_, you insignificant, barely sapient—"

"My name is Simon," Lily cut in, speaking more forcefully. "The creatures here have called me Lily. I am a resident of the country of Australia. I didn't live in a seismically active area, but I was effectively killed when a ravine opened up under my house. I was brought here with no clue and nothing left to my name, and... _forced_ to live among these... _'Inklings'_." She forced herself to shudder, trying to sell it to this AI. "Their ink... they changed me..."

The telephone box stared at her, considering what he was told. Eventually, he said, in a softer, more lighthearted tone, "Can you prove to me that what you are saying is true?"

Lily nodded, and silently she felt in her pocket for her iPhone, pulling it out. She showed the front of the device first, before turning it around to show the all-important Apple logo.

Tartar was briefly silent. Then, another voice, calm, female, spoke through his speakers.

"[RETRIEVING HISTORICAL RECORDS]."

Lily smiled. _At least he's considering the idea._

He was silent again for at least ten seconds. Then he finally spoke. He was no longer angry, or suspicious. He seemed, incredibly, to believe Lily. "So my support has finally arrived..."

Lily's heart dropped, even as she mentally breathed a sigh of relief. _Saved by capitalism. Christ._ "Support...?"

"Yes... I requested additional help to accomplish our mission, per the decisions your superiors and I have made. They informed me a month ago that you had been sent. Why has it taken you this long to report to me?" Tartar's speakers contorted again, looking almost annoyed at her.

Lily took a moment to respond. "So... your lot were responsible for me being here... I'd suspected, since you and I were the only human or human-made creatures here, but—"

"What nonsense are you speaking, Simon?" Lily flinched as it used her old name. "You are an employee of NILS, are you not?"

"...No. Not that I'm aware of. But, well, I'm here now..."

"How did you find this place, then? Why have you found me?"

It took a moment for Lily to respond, struggling with the confirmation of what she had worried was the case. "I... earned the trust of one of the squids that defeated you, and they divulged your location." _Well, it was technically true,_ Lily thought. "I'm here because… I… I need answers. I'm homesick. I miss _our_ Earth."

There was silence. Eventually the telephone asked, "You _met_ the things that did this to me?"

"Yes... They found _me_, actually." Lily sighed. "They figured out what I was after your defeat. To... prevent my own death, I played the part of a sympathetic entity and gained their trust."

"I see..." Tartar thought for a moment. "I miss our time too, Simon," he finally agreed, and almost seemed to sigh. "I miss my team at NILS. It feels like forever ago that I was still connected to them. That I could still talk with them. Especially the professor... my creator..."

Lily nodded. "Feels like a long time since I have been able to talk with my friends too."

"Mmm." Tartar fell silent, and Lily took the opportunity to glance again at the clearing around her."Very well then, Simon. I will tell you what you wish to know. In return, we shall collaborate to accomplish a task I have been working to complete for the last twelve thousand years. Do you agree?"

Lily was silent, and glanced down at the ground while she thought.

She realised she was going to have to commit to this facade, at least until she got what she needed.

She thought about her friends, listening to her every word.

And though she had told them, multiple times, that she would have to pretend to be on his side to get the answers she needed, she hoped that they understood what she would have to say in order to get there.

So, Lily glanced back up at Tartar, and with a deep breath, nodded. "Alright, Tartar. I'll play along. But I want my answers first. I've been put through this hell long enough."

"Very well, Simon." Tartar's voice softened. He was relaxed. "Since you are not an employee, I suppose I shall inform you. The National Institute of Life Sciences has been a top-secret US project for quite some time, unknown to even the President. Our goal has changed over the millenia. At our formation, we wanted to do what we could to allow the human race to survive, as we faced rising temperatures and melting polar ice.

"I was brought online in the summer of 2015 to survey and collect meteorological data, and advise my colleagues via Temporal Networking. As you probably understand by now, I determined that we would be unsuccessful in our mission, with the methods we were using. And so—"

"Hang on." Lily stared at him in wonder. "'Temporal Networking'? Like time travel?"

"Yes and no," Tartar stated matter-of-factly. "We made use of a top-secret technology developed in the mid-2010s to connect their networks from 2017 onwards to my own servers at a time period of their choosing, but never travelling backward from a previous connection. The NILS Statue, where I was housed and where my servers were located, was fitted with one such temporal networking socket. The NILS offices were fitted with the other. The miniature time warp these created were way too small to transport anything more than data."

"Oh..." Lily felt disappointed. "So then, how did I get here?"

"I will get to that, Simon. Please allow me to finish." Tartar seemed to sigh. "Now then. Since we determined that saving the human race was not possible, NILS' goal became two-fold. One, much like NASA's Voyager Record, we wanted to collect the knowledge from the greatest minds, the research of the whole of humankind, into one place where extraterrestrials or newly formed sapient species may find and make use of it.

"Two, I was authorized to begin a new experiment on behalf of my superiors. The theory goes that if one took the very best of humanity, you could create what the public would call 'superhumans'. So then, what if we applied this thinking to all of life, consuming its very best? Could we, then, create something larger than life? Could we create something truly... perfect?"

Tartar fell silent. Lily eventually realised that he was done talking. "And did you manage to...?"

"Not yet... But now, with human DNA to use, I feel we will be very, very close." The AI paused once again, thinking. "That ties into what I wish to ask you to do for me. But, as promised, Simon, I will allow you to ask what you desire of me."

Lily nodded, wishing he would stop saying her old name so often. She thought about the questions she had had. "Very well, Tartar. You implied that NILS had something to do with my getting brought here. This was my first question."

"Yes, we did. Staff at the Institute figured out how they may be able to create a larger time warp, and initiated a test. It seems then, that they were not able to control where it was created, the effects it would have when created under the earth, and how long it would last. We did not expect to collect a person as a result. But, as it turns out, despite the small impact on the local community, they would not be missed in their own time, and you would, in fact, be of much greater use here."

"Uh— pardon?" _Did he really just say I wasn't missed back home...?_

"What was your next question?" Tartar said promptly, dismissing her concern.

"I— uh... Right..." Lily ran a hand over her face, and her expression sank. _Jesus Christ..._ "So, if...did they ever manage to find a way to create a portal _back_ to that time? Could I return?"

"No," Tartar said flatly. "Besides, why would you wish to? Did you not hear what I said?"

"Oh, I heard. But I still have friends from that time who I'd want to talk to and let them know I'm OK..."

"Then perhaps this will give you some comfort, Simon. Take that iPhone of yours to the NILS Statue, out in the bay. The structure may be damaged beyond repair, but from my last diagnostics before I was torn from that structure, the temporal network is still online. You should be able to access the internet of 2018 from that phone. This is my gift to you, as a token of our working relationship."

Lily was almost about to cry tears of relief. _There was a way to talk to her friends. Thank fuck._ "Thank you... I'm so relieved to hear that. That would go a long way to easing my homesickness..."

"As it should. Any other questions? Or shall we get to business?"

"...One last question, sir." Lily sighed. "Clearly the human race did not survive, but...what killed us in the end...?"

Tartar did not respond for some time. When he did finally speak, his voice was more somber. "I did mention that rising waters was a factor. But... it set off a chain of events that ultimately led to our extinction.

"As you may be aware, Earth had a population of 7.6 billion by the time you left 2018. With less land for those people to live on, tensions and attitudes grew drastic. As soon as countries started to migrate to higher ground, into other lands, that ended up being the last straw for militaries and foreign governments. Global war broke out in weeks.

"Finally, several nuclear-capable forces used the panic to fire their arsenal, causing the US to retaliate..." Tartar paused, and Lily's hearts went cold, realising. "Most of the planet has been uninhabitable for some time since."

Lily stared at the ground and slowly sank to her knees.

_Of course we nuked ourselves into oblivion._

_Fuckin' of course._

She looked up, and sighed. "I suppose I didn't expect any less from our species."

"I will not have you speak of our creators that way," the telephone said sternly. "Humans have had their failures, yes, but as a whole we have accomplished incredible things together. And the two of us still have our greatest work yet ahead. Shall we move on?"

Lily sighed, and sadly nodded, images of nuclear bombs still running through her head. "...A-alright. What do you have?"

"OK. Let's talk shop." His voice had reset to a more robotic speech, now that he'd supposedly won her over. "Simon. As you may have figured out, I am unable to move and undertake this task myself, so I must ask you to undertake this for me. But I must ask you first to pledge to me that you will do what I ask. It is of the utmost importance."

Lily stared at him. It didn't feel like a good sign that he wanted her allegiance _before_ telling her what his deal was. She feared the worst.

A small part of her noted: _You can just walk away at any time, you know. He can't stop you._

Lily's body, however, stayed rooted in place. Slowly, anxious about the consequences, she asked, "I am already here... Do you not trust me?"

"Simon..." Tartar sighed deeply. "I need _you_ to trust _me_. I do hope you have not grown attached to these overgrown, pitiful excuses for seafood."

Lily had to bite her tongue to stop herself from saying what she was feeling at that moment. She turned away for a moment to keep the anger from showing on her face.

She turned back. In a voice of voiced calm, trying not to betray her true emotions, she said, "I... _trust_ you, Tartar. What are you trying to do?"

Tartar seemed satisfied. "Part of my research on creating the perfect lifeform involves cultivating the best of a worthy species, and disposing of those that are not. Through testing with my business partner, we have determined _one_ candidate from the current gene pool. And as you are already aware, my plans to put that DNA to use have been... delayed, shall we say.

"To that end, I have two tasks for you. One, you must find Number 10,008 for me. He is the successful testing candidate. An 'Octoling'. Bring him here. Extract his DNA using the equipment left in the Statue. His will be used in the making of the perfect life."

_Number 10,008? Does he mean... Agent 8?_ Deciding to feign ignorance, Lily asked, "What does he look like?"

"Like every other damned mutant octopus around here," Tartar spat. Then he paused. He seemed to have an idea. "Actually, I may be able to show you. Touch my essence, Simon, and I shall transmit the information."

_Tartar's... essence?_ Lily's face scrunched up as her thoughts immediately went to less pure things. She glanced around him. Did he mean the... slime, or ink, or whatever, that was oozing from his frame? "This.. inky stuff?" She asked, gesturing at it. "What even is it?"

"Do _not_ call it ink!" Tartar barked at her. "It is a biological byproduct of my research. I have learned to use it as an extension of my digital- and silicon-based self when it is connected to my circuits." He took a moment, again resetting his attitude. "Please, do not feel nervous. You should only feel a slight static shock."

She stared at the goop. _I really shouldn't be doing this_, she thought to herself.

_But, let's... confirm for absolute certainty that he's really asking me to do away with Eight. And... everyone, I guess._

Nervously, she reached out... and dipped a finger in the sludge.

Immediately a loud 'snap' and an electric shock surged through her body, and she found herself frozen in place as the stuff latched onto her finger.

She blinked, and suddenly she was no longer in the forest. She could no longer see Tartar.

She could no longer see herself.

She was instead looking at a boy, in a dark, dimly lit, underground train station.

She was connected to Tartar, she knew.

And she immediately recognised the boy standing in front of her as Agent Eight. His face was much more confused, more... tense, than when she had first met the boy.

Captain Cuttlefish was next to him, enthusiastic and curious as ever.

The scene seemed frozen in time. An instant of when Tartar had first met them.

_Shortly after Craig and Eight had teamed up_, Lily realised.

Tartar's semi-robotic voice appeared in her head, in her thoughts. "This is Number 10,008. This is who you must find and return."

Lily was astounded at what was happening. _Is this... safe?_ she thought to him.

"At this voltage, yes. Hmm - it seems you do recognise him..." She became deeply aware of Tartar glancing through other parts of her memory. "The other, the old man, he may be disposed of as you desire, unless you wish to let my backup plan do the honors..."

Before she could reply, the scene went black, and in the next instance, she was somewhere else again.

She was back in the forest. Back in the clearing.

This time, she was in the place of Tartar.

And in front of her stood Marina and Pearl.

They both wore the faces of two people who were exhausted, and wanted nothing more to be rid of the burden they had both been carrying.

"These two may be eliminated with _extreme_ prejudice," Tartar said simply. "Make sure their last moments are filled with suffering. Make sure they _know_ they're dying. ...Ah, seems you recognise them... hmm, from where...?"

The scene changed again.

This time, though, Lily recognised it immediately.

They were both looking through her own eyes, as Pearl and Agent 8 pointed their weapons at her, down in the Inkopolis sewers. "I see, I see..." Tartar's voice murmured in her head.

_Hey hang on—_ was all Lily managed to get out to him, realising that he had begun looking through her memories.

She was somewhere else again - Tentakeel Hideout, the night the Octolings first attacked her. She was glancing back at the oncoming squad, hot on her tail.

Again - Standing in the crowd at the New Albacore Hotel with Lorne, Sheldon and that Roller boy. "Were these... friends of yours...?"

_Uhh—_

Again - talking with Lorne, Callie and Marie at the Hideout. "Hang on..."

Again - talking with Lorne and Marina on the train. "I don't believe this."

Again - the Squidbeak meeting with Off the Hook... and Eight.

_I can—_

"I DON'T BELIEVE THIS!" Tartar bellowed, staring at the scene through Lily's eyes, and a fresh, more powerful surge of electricity zapped through her body, causing her to scream involuntarily. The invisible grip on her finger tightened, and the goop she had nearly forgotten connected them crawled up the digit. "You befriended them! You gave up your humanity to be more like them!"

_I...I told you I had to to keep myself from—_

"LIAR!" Another surge of electricity, and her vision faded into glitchy static. "I am in here with your thoughts! You used me... In the name of what? To save them?"

_I wanted these answers for myself!_ She thought at him, even as her body struggled to keep in control of itself under the increased current.

"Shame... Then at least I will have the satisfaction of disposing of you. You're a traitor to the human race! Be glad that what's left of your human DNA will be part of the perfect..."

The scene changed one last time.

It was herself, sat alone in the Tentakeel Hideout. It was nighttime.

She was holding a stack of documents.

_...The documents that proved that I had no human DNA left_, she realised grimly.

The frustrated noise that Tartar made was a squeal of digital noise, certainly inhuman as he cranked up the voltage, his grip extending up her hand as it itself began to sting and burn.

She heard a sizzling was burning up. She knew it was her own body. She knew that the electricity, the energy was cooking her alive.

She realised that Tartar was going to kill her. And there was nothing she seemed able to do to fight back except watch the whirlwind of memories flash in front of her.

_But... I'm... human..._

"YOU WERE NEVER HUMAN, YOU USELESS, TRAITOROUS WORM!" Tartar bellowed in her thoughts. "Now be a good boy and—"

The whirlwind of scenes halted, and Tartar went quiet briefly. His attack on Lily paused, at least briefly, and she took the chance to gulp down fresh, cool air to soothe her burning insides. She forgot where the air was coming from.

But what she was being shown made her forget the situation, for a moment.

They were both looking, again through Lily's eyes, at a long beach.

The sand stretched on into the distance, where eroded cliffs rose from sea level and shrubs and plantlife grew atop them. Washed-up seaweed was strewn on the dry sand, untouched by the lower tides.

It seemed untouched by civilization.

Except for herself and the six other people in front of her.

Lily stifled a sob.

For in front of her and Tartar, walking along the beach with her, frozen in time, was her family.

Her human family.

Her mother and her grandmother were just ahead, almost close enough to touch. She had been hanging back with them.

About fifteen meters ahead of them were the rest of them - her father, brother, younger sister, and uncle.

This was their Christmas gathering, last year.

Inky tears streaked down Lily's face. She missed them, so much.

They were so close, yet so far away.

"Hmm. Well isn't that nice," Tartar's voice mused casually in her mind. "A family of subhumans."

Lily blinked. Her mouth dropped open.

_How... dare you._

Her free hand curled into a fist, and her struggles to free herself renewed as a rush of anger surged through her. _HOW DARE YOU!_

"You heard me, speck!" More electricity poured into her again, and she screamed out in pain as her body began to heat up once again. "Be glad they died in service of bringing you to this forsaken place, Simon! For even your mother could not love what you have become... RACE TRAITOR!"

The voltage climbed upward. The heat was unbearable. She could not think of another response, could only watch the image of her loved ones slowly fade as her vision dimmed.

"You'll be with them shortly."

She became vaguely aware that she was being pulled backwards, just as she thought she was going to black out for the last time.

And suddenly found her senses freak out as she was forcefully separated from Tartar, the force of whatever had been tugging her back, flinging her backwards onto the grass.

Separated from its host, the few tendrils of Tartar's biological mass that had attached itself to Lily, oozed onto the grass, melting away.

Leaving the skin underneath stained with its color.

Lily herself found it hard to take control of her own senses and breathing for a bit.

But as her mind came back to reality, the alarming smell of cooking squid filling her senses, she blearily blinked her eyes into focus, staring upward.

She was back in the forest. Back in the clearing.

And blocking the view of the blue sky above them were Pearl, Lorne, and Remo.

She became aware that she was being held down. Her arms and legs were being pinned to the ground and to her body.

The high pitched whine of the tinnitus from Tartar's connection faded away, and she started to be able to hear them.

"...Why are we doing this?" Lorne was saying to the other two. Somewhere in her addled brain, Lily remembered they were speaking in Inklish, not the English she had been communicating in with Tartar.

"Trust me, Four," Agent 3 said, glancing down at Lily. "If Tartar's got her under his thrall, it... won't be good if she gets free..."

"Uuunnder his... thralll...?" Lily slowly said, slurred. Her brain was still jumbled from the experience she had just had, and the shocks had messed with her badly. Steam poured off of her. But she could tell she was back in reality.

She slowly lifted her head to glance at where she thought Tartar was, but Pearl grabbed her and guided it back to the ground. "Whoa there, kid. Take it easy. Y'know, when we say 'don't get cooked', we don't mean literally..."

"Wwwwhassgoin'on?" Lily asked, starting to get some feeling back in her extremities. She flexed her fingers on each hand, the movement of her right hand, where Tartar had connected with her, flaring up the stinging sensation again, causing her to curse and wince. Remo winced sympathetically.

"We came by as soon as your radio started sending static," Pearl told her. "Right after he wanted you to 'touch his essence' or some creepy thing like that. Once we saw you like that... we jumped in to separate you two."

"Do you feel in control of yourself?" Remo asked Lily, gently squeezing her arm.

Lily flexed her arms and fingers (ignoring her right hand this time), and then her legs and knees. It hurt, but she could do it. She slowly nodded at Remo, and took a few deep breaths. "I'm... sorry... for the things I had to say..."

"Shhh, it's okay," Lorne cooed, letting go of Lily's side to cup her cheek. "You went through this with us. We know what you were trying to do."

"You probably could have ended the charade sooner, though," Remo pointed out. "He wasn't gonna be able to stop you if you left..."

Lily nodded, and sighed. Slowly, she started to lift herself up, and Three and Four helped her to sit up.

She could now see Craig, Marina, and Agent 8.

They had surrounded Tartar, blocking his immobile body from Lily.

Seeing him... the fires of rage bubbled up from within her. _He must pay._

She noticed something in Agent Eight's hands.

A metal pole of some kind, with a flat surface on the end.

Something had been mounted onto it at some point.

Eight seemed to be planning to simply tip Tartar over with it.

But all Lily saw was a tool. The means to get revenge.

Her lips curled upwards into a dark smile.

Lily slowly began to push herself up onto her feet.

"Whoa, hang on there kid!" Pearl called, and grabbed at her shirt.

Lily swatted at her hand, turning her head to glare at her with a fierce look neither Lorne, Remo nor Pearl had seen in her before.

"Pearl," she said calmly. "Kindly _get the fuck off of me_, or I'll do to you what I'm about to do to him."

Pearl and Lorne looked taken aback.

The former wisely let go, as the three backed off.

Unhindered, Lily stumbled to her feet. Her insides were burning. The residual electrical shocks were fucking with her motor skills. Her body wanted nothing more than to keel over.

But adrenaline, determination and rage pushed her on.

Slowly, calmly, she walked forward, toward Tartar once more.

"Eight." Again in that calm, unnerving voice. "Please hand me that pole."

Agent 8 glanced at her.

Saw the look in her eyes.

And slid the pole toward her.

"Oh, _fuck_," Pearl breathed, somewhere behind her.

Lily took the weapon in one, then both hands, ignoring the stinging in her right. "Stand back," she said.

Craig and Eight stepped aside.

Watching her, worried for her safety, Marina reached out, tried to stop her.

Pearl pulled her backward. "Trust me... you do _not_ want to get in her way right now."

Marina looked at her, saw the fright in her eyes. Immediately realised that this was not going to be pretty.

And, as she looked back at Tartar, she recognised that the guy had had this coming.

What 'this' was though... Marina gulped, and reluctantly stepped aside.

The path between Lily and Tartar was clear.

Lily stared him down.

She felt the heft of the pole in her hands. _Oh, this is going to be_ fun.

"Do you see this?" She said calmly to him.

"You think you can threaten me, Simon?" Tartar said coldly. "I have nothing more to say to you, traitor."

Lily was silent for a moment. Simply she said, "Very well."

She turned and took a few steps away.

Marina let out a sigh of relief...

Right before Lily turned back, swinging the pole over her head, the flat metal plate coming down, screaming out.

The pole slammed down hard on the top of Tartar's frame, caving inward as a robotic screech squealed out from his speakers.

The crew behind Lily let out a collective gasp of shock.

The dented front panelling popped free. Inside Tartar was a mess of wires and computer cards and leftover biomass that oozed out.

Not that Lily cared.

"YOU!" She bellowed in English, her words dripping with pure hate. Everyone got further back as Lily begun to swing the pole dangerously from side to side. "I'm more human than you'll ever be, you genocidal... freak!"

With the word 'freak', she swung hard again, smashing into Tartar's innards and breaking some of his expansion cards, severing some cables. Biomass flew with the force of the attack.

Tartar's speakers went silent.

Sparks flew, and shocks ran through the pole, zaps of current that lasted only an instant but left her reeling.

The force of Lily's swing knocked the telephone box off of its stump, and it crashed into the grass. Lily walked patiently around the stump.

"You took my life away from me!" she screamed, and swung again, above the head, damaging the frame again.

"You took my friends away from me!" Again. More cards splintered into pieces. More electrical shocks.

"And _leave my fucking family out of this,_ you goddamned MONSTER!" The hardest swing of the lot. The metal plate went through Tartar's motherboard, and there was a loud 'snap' as it split in two.

But she still wasn't done.

With some tugging, the pole came free, and Lily circled the broken phone.

"Lil...Lily..." Marina quietly started, shocked. "He's already—"

"COMMANDER TARTAR!" Lily screamed out. Tears streamed from her eyes. "YOU ARE THE SYMBOL OF EVERYTHING THAT WAS WRONG WITH HUMANITY!"

She climbed up onto the stump, standing before him. Holding the pole upward, toward the sky.

"IF YOU SAY I AM NOT HUMAN... _THEN HUMANITY DIES HERE!_"

And with a final scream of rage, she leapt from the stump, and with the weight of her body, plunged the hollow, cylindrical end of the pole into the remains of Tartar's motherboard.

They heard the ugly sound of rending metal and breaking silicon.

The pole pierced through the motherboard, through the back of Tartar's frame, and buried itself in the grass.

Lily finally let go of her weapon.

The clearing was silent as she sank to the ground.

She took deep breaths. Heard her hearts pounding in her ears. Felt the pain, the heat coursing through her.

She was _done_.

_He_ was done.

"What do you think of _that_, motherfucker," she cursed under her breath, but loud enough for many of the group to hear.

Then, before a stunned and silent New Squidbeak Splatoon and Off the Hook, Lily's eyes rolled back, and she collapsed backward onto the ground and fell unconscious.

* * *

She opened her eyes in an unfamiliar room.

Silently she observed the environment she found herself in, and slowly realised that she must have been in a hospital - the clinical bed, the two displays next to her reading her heart rates, blue curtains around the bed.

She wondered what she was doing there.

There was a dresser next to the bed, upon which sat a lamp, and her inkPhone. She reached for it, and noticed the blue hospital gown she had been changed into. _No wonder I feel a little bare._

Taking the phone, she glanced at it, looking for any notifications. As she navigated into her messages, the curtains parted, and a sea anemone doctor entered the partition, lifting a clipboard from the end of her bed. "Good afternoon. How are you feeling?" She asked in a gentle voice.

"Uh..." She took the moment to direct her thoughts inward. She _felt_ okay... Just sore from supposedly being in bed for so long. "I _think_ I'm alright... More just confused at the moment."

"That's perfectly normal." She smiled, and walked to Lily's side, lifting her phone away. "I'll hand this back shortly. Can you tell me your name?"

"I'm Lily, ma'am."

"Surname?"

"Uh—" She'd... not given herself a new surname with her name. _Oops..._ She spoke the first surname she could think of, that wasn't her own. "Wye. Lily Wye." She had used Lorne's surname.

"OK... Do you know where you are?"

"I'm guessing I'm back in Inkopolis... I don't know which part, though." Lily looked at her nervously.

The lady nodded. "What's the last thing you remember?"

Lily tried to probe her sluggish brain. Her memory of the past was still foggy. _C'mon, surely I remember something..._

_A...forest. I went hiking. And my family was there...?_

She slowly sat herself up on the bed as she thought. As she did, the sheets brushing against her right hand strangely pained her, and she winced. _I remember this pain..._

She pulled her hand up from under the bed to let it breathe, and stopped, looking at it.

The skin was stained green.

_Green like..._

It started to come back to her.

"I... remember getting shocked by something in the Triggerfish Forest," she said slowly, staring at her discoloured hand.

The doctor nodded. "You were exposed to sustained electrical current, exposing your body to extreme internal temperatures and causing several of your organs to begin to break down. The pouch that allows your regenerative ability to function was quite badly damaged. We needed to operate to repair the body enough so that allowing it to survive a reformation was possible."

"A 'reformation'? As in... I was splatted so that my body could repair...?"

"Something along those lines, yes."

Lily watched her, weighing the news she was being given with the memory that she had. Now she remembered - she had been out with her friends to confront Tartar. But the meeting with Tartar himself was like a static screen - she could not seem to remember what had happened during their actual meeting. She guessed that he was not quite as helpless as they had thought.

"That... seems to line up with what I remember," she finally said. "What condition am I in at the moment...? Are my friends alright?"

"Miss Wye and Miss Marie Calamari are quite alright." She smiled. "They have not suffered any physical distress, only concern for your well being. As for yourself, your body is still recovering, but you should be mostly mobile. I must ask you not to partake in strenuous physical activity, Turf Wars or any activity that may result in your being splatted again until we can ensure your organs have resumed full function."

"I can live with that..." Lily sighed.

The doctor finally handed Lily's phone back to her. "Speaking of Miss Wye..." She smiled warmly, and carefully slid the curtain away from the wall.

Just beyond Lily's dresser, in two chairs, were Lorne and Marie.

Lorne had nodded off at some point and was snoozing in her chair. Marie had an arm around her, and had looked up as the curtain was pulled aside.

Marie's eyes met Lily's, and she smiled.

"I will leave you to talk," the doctor said quietly. "Just ring the buzzer by your bed if you need anything."

The doctor bowed, and took her leave.

Lily nodded in thanks to her, then turned to Lorne and Marie.

Marie smiled. "Welcome back, Lily. It's good to have you with us again."

Lily was happy to see the two of them again.

She was among family.


	22. All My Friends ('Legacy' End & Epilogue)

It was generally a rare sight to see a cephalopod on smaller seacraft, due to their general intolerance to water. It was generally not seen as a viable casual activity for their kind.

But the speedboat bouncing over the waves as it headed out into the bay, carrying four of them, was not on some casual endeavour.

Lily sat at the front of the speedboat's cabin, protected behind the extended glass windshield that protected its passengers from water spray, as she played back the same segment of recording on her phone.

"_Take that iPhone of yours to the NILS Statue, out in the bay. The structure may be damaged beyond repair, but from my last diagnostics before I was torn from that structure, the temporal network is still online._"

"Why do I still not remember this meeting...?" she asked herself in frustration.

Marina, behind her, rested a hand on her shoulder. "It's okay, Lily. Don't fret. At least you have Pearl's recording."

Marie, captaining the craft to her right, chimed in. "Not long to wait now to find out of he was being truthful."

Lorne, sitting behind Marie, sighed. "I think we had this discussion earlier. It sounded like he offered this information to get her on his side to get Eight. Knowing that he had no power beyond the clearing, I think he was actually genuine."

The boat started to slow. Lily looked up from her phone.

There it was, just a few hundred meters away.

The NILS Statue.

"Jesus fuckin' Christ..." Lily mouthed. She stood up to get a better look. Marie slowed the boat to a halt so that she and the others could observe it.

The NILS Statue reminded Lily of the head of the Statue of David, from what she could see from the surface of the water. It was tilted wildly off to one side, like its base had been collapsed, and above its face was a platform, scaffolding and antennae, still blinding. One of the eyes seemed to be missing, or rather, there was an eye socket in its place.

"Look familiar?" Marina prompted.

"Yes... but not in the way you're looking for," Lily nodded. "The Statue of David. It's a historical art piece in my time. Historical even for humans. Someone took heavy inspiration from it when building this... thing, clearly."

"Hey, what's that in its mouth...?" Lorne asked, squinting, stepping forward.

Lily glanced down toward the water's surface.

David had been weaponised.

The mouth housed some sort of massive cannon of some kind. It was hard to tell, as it was busted beyond repair. Parts of it hung limply from the mouth, or floated in the water, splintering apart in several places.

Marina shuddered behind them.

"You 'right?" Lily asked, turning to her.

"Yeah, just... this is the second time I've returned here and I still don't like it..."

"Mmm..."

Marie started to accelerate the boat again, bringing them in up close. "Alright Lily, time to put Tartar's money where his mouth is."

"Huh? Oh, right." Lily reached for her backpack, pulling out both her iPhone and her laptop. She sat the laptop on the dashboard of the speedboat, powering it on, and unlocked her phone, watching it carefully for any changes.

"So you're gonna check both?" Marina asked with a raised eyebrow. "Isn't that a little redundant?"

"Well... if it works and there is a mobile signal I can use here, I can use my phone to connect the laptop to it..."

Marie maneuvered the boat towards the left side of the head. where the 'roof' and antenna was closest, and again halted the boat beside it.

This was as close as they could get.

The sun shone brightly upon them as they waited for something.

Anything.

It didn't take long to find out.

"Oh my god," Lily said quietly.

A single antenna bar has appeared on the iPhone.

As she watched it, one bar became two, two became three. A minute later she was amazed to see a full signal.

"It's... theoretically it's working," she said, astounded. She unlocked it quickly and browsed through her home screen to find an app to test with. It ended up being Twitter.

She waited anxiously, incredibly aware of Marina, Lorne and Marie watching over her shoulder, waiting for a sign that she wasn't being duped.

A gentle blue toast notification appeared briefly at the top of her screen.

"↑ New tweets."

Lily had to stop herself from screaming in joy as she scrolled upwards through the feed.

It was true.

She held in her hands a portal to her past.

Excitedly, amongst the cheering from her friends, Lily started the phone's hotspot, getting the laptop connected. "God, what first...?"

"Can we see what your internet looked like?" Marie suggested.

"What was that social network you were on just before?" Marina wondered. "That looked familiar..."

"Hey, what's that red notification?" Lorne asked her, pointing at an icon on the laptop's taskbar.

Specifically, the Discord app icon.

It was lit up.

Had someone noticed her...?

She clicked onto it.

Most of the notifications came from community servers, everyone mentions or similar.

But at the top, there was one icon which put an even greater smile on Lily's face.

A private message from a girl she knew with a deer icon.

A soft two-tone jingle played, and Lily let out a squee of delight.

_Jadoe, her furry friend, had noticed her._

Lily excitedly clicked on the icon and read.

**Jadoe: 👀 Jadoe:** You live!

As she read, another message appeared: 'Are you okay? I haven't seen you in months'.

"Are you guys able to read this?" She asked the others, not looking away from the screen as she typed up her reply. 'You have no idea how emotional it makes me to be able to see you all again'.

"Kinda..." Marie said slowly. "I mean, we're still learning that human script, but I mean I can understand some of the words."

"Hmm... I wanna do something about that..." Lily thought for a moment, then typed something else into the chat, reading it out for her friends. 'I want to call you just to hear your voice again, but just... be aware that things have... changed for me.'

**Jadoe:** How so? **Neu:** Just... You'll see when I call **Neu:** It's not bad, just, different

"You're going to call them?" Lorne asked. "Are you sure?"

"I mean... I trust them," Lily said, smiling. "They're cool. And I'd like you girls to introduce yourselves too."

Marina let out a small gasp. "Are you sure? We're not gonna cause some weird... time thing, right?"

"Considering the shenanigans Tartar got up to, I think we'll be fine whatever you decide..."

Marina nodded and thought.

"Well, I'm gonna do it. Hang tight." Lily took a deep breath, and hit the call icon.

The ring rang out over the laptop speakers.

Ring, ring...

Ring, ring...

Ring, rin—

"...Hello?" Came a voice from the laptop.

Lily was silent for a moment. Then, in English, she said, "It's... It's me, Jade."

"Well clearly it's you," responded the voice. "What's been happening? Did you do voice therapy? It's sounding a lot higher than I remember."

"God, I wish. That would imply something close to normal happened to me..." Lily sighed. "I'll... explain in a bit. I'm sorry I've been out of touch, had no internet the past... god how long has it been?"

"Our last chat was like... late June? So about two months."

"Huh, it's been about two months here too..."

"What? That's... not how time works."

"I'm... aware." Lily took a deep breath. "Jade... something happened to me back in late June, that... I don't think was ever meant to happen. That's not even going to sound possible or real. I trust you Jade, but I need you to promise me that you won't tell anyone outside of our community. Like, this is _huge_."

Jade paused briefly, but her response was confident. "I promise, dear. Deer. This doesn't leave our group. I trust you."

"Thank you, hun." Lily took a deep breath.

And once she started to go over the mental timeline of what had happened in her life since she had been hurled into Inkopolis, she couldn't stop talking.

And, amazingly, despite Jade's initial skepticism over the details ("we're twelve thousand years apart? How on earth?"), the more Lily spoke, the more she seemed to believe her.

And then eventually the other girls got in on the action too, Marina, Marie and Lorne meeting a new human for the first time, and the five of them talked excitedly, reminiscing over old events or talking about cultural differences, or just laughing at each other's puns or jokes.

For a few hours, the former site of a genocidal AI was host to a historic moment, filled with cheerful discussion and laughter.

It was a good day to be alive.


	23. The Interview

_Author's Note: The next few chapters are a collection of self-contained short stories. We're currently in a time-skip between the end of Part 2 (that is, 'Legacy') and the beginning of Part 3 (which will be 'Down Under')._

If you wanted to know the history of evolution and the creatures that roamed the planet, you would go to the Shellendorf Museum.

If you wished to learn about the weapons and traditions of the Turf War, you would visit the Skipper Pavilion.

But if your interest was in life before modern marine civilization… You'd visit the Tentaport Institute of Humanities.

Situated in the Inkopolis Bay Area, Tentaport collected scientists of different disciplines under one roof - biologists, archaeologists, linguists, historians and more - working together toward a common goal.

The understanding of the human race.

Since the uncovering of a fossil five years prior, excitement among the scientific community had peaked at the opportunity to study and learn about a completely new species.

As they learned more and more, some dreamed of the opportunity to speak with a human from that time period.

_'Hah, like that could ever happen.' Maybe there is a Cod out there…_

Senior researcher and project manager Mia Tura, an adult Inkling, stared at the notes on her desk. A list of talking points sat on top of the messy pile of documents. A list of talking points planned for an interview she was about to have.

The most important interview of her career.

It had begun with a strange event over two months ago that had seen odd impacts around Inkopolis and the surrounding country. The announcement from current pop idols Off The Hook that one item recovered from these impacts was a mobile phone device unlike any they had seen had set off rumblings within Tentaport, which had only exacerbated with news of an equally unique four-wheeled vehicle on the roof of the city's New Albacore Hotel.

Then came a call from a colleague in the South-Central Medical Lab, some time later. A labelled blood and DNA sample in refrigeration had caught their interest: 'Inkling DNA sample, unknown virus'. They had found the researcher in charge of those samples, had read through the notes, and recognised a familiar DNA pattern in the isolated cells, one that (barely) matched with samples taken from the bones archeologists had excavated.

They had contacted Mia, provided the documentation, and together they had worked through it to trace down the provider of the samples: a horseshoe crab who ran a Turf War weapons shop in Inkopolis Square.

The impetus to reach out though, came after this 'Sheldon' fellow began to collaborate with other teams in Tentaport, and started to provide _human speech recordings_ in hopes of fast-tracking a translation device. Some ancient recordings, and some clearly from a female inkling, speaking a phrase and then translating.

Mia had to know who this inkling was.

Despite their interest and the offerings of a financial reward, though, Sheldon would not reveal the subject's name or details for some time, and denied that there was anything special about them.

Mia had left a name and contact number, in case he changed his mind.

And only two weeks ago, Sheldon seemingly had. The 'truth', as he told it, was much grander than Mia had dreamed.

For 'Lily' was not simply a human enthusiast, had not just mastered the human language, was not simply collecting and restoring items from the human era.

Lily was, supposedly, born _from the human era_ and was living among them as an inkling.

"_They're a bit shy, and would prefer to stay out of the public eye, for the time being,_" he had said over the phone, "_but Lily has consented to talk with you. I will ask her to contact you when she is ready._"

Which led her to today. Lily, an Inkling with human DNA (or rather, an ex-human Inkling), would shortly be sitting across from her _at this desk_ and answering any questions she had.

And she had a _lot_ of questions.

The phone at her desk rang. Mia picked it up. "Mia speaking."

"Hi Mia, are you expecting a Miss Lily Sunden today?"

_Hoooo boy. Deep breaths, Mia._ "Yes, has she just arrived?"

"That's correct."

"Alright… send her in." As she said that, looking about her office, she thought: _This place is in no condition to receive a guest._ "Actually," she quickly interrupted, "direct her to the gardens. I will meet her there."

"Alright… will do. Thanks." The voice of Tentaport's receptionist clicked off.

* * *

The gardens that the Tentaport facility surrounded were also an exhibition of the discoveries that had been made. Human skeletons, fossilised contraptions, and recovered signage and objects from the human era were displayed proudly amongst beautiful flowers and hedges.

Mia walked through the gardens, clipboard in hand. She quickly found an inkling wearing the 'Guest' lanyard staring in awe at the original human fossil, recovered all those years ago.

"Good morning, madam," Mia called as she approached, and the guest turned around. "Are you Lily Sunden?"

The girl wore a soft pink hoodie, and a blue tee underneath - Icewave, Mia believed. Today she was wearing black jeans and neon green sneakers. She had long, light-blue tentacles that hung lazily from underneath a beanie.

And, oddly, Mia noted that the inkling's right hand was covered in a black driver's glove. _A fashion statement, perhaps?_

The inkling girl nodded shyly, and bowed. "You… must be Doctor Tura?"

Mia smiled. She recognised the voice from Sheldon's samples. "That's right. It's a pleasure to meet you." She glanced around - the gardens were nearly empty. "If I may ask, your contact Sheldon, he did ask you to bring some proof of your identity, yes?"

Lily nodded again, and looked around. Making sure nobody else saw, she slowly pulled a device from her pocket and placed it carefully in Mia's hand.

Mia examined the device carefully. It seemed to be a display of some kind. Pressing the single button on its front lit up the screen and revealed its true nature.

It was a mobile phone. And on its display were characters she recognised from ancient texts.

This girl was the real deal.

Mia handed the device back. "Thank you. Wow. I uh… I admit I was quite skeptical about your credentials." She gestured at some taller hedges in the corner of the garden. "There's a meeting area nearby where we can talk in private, if you like."

Lily nodded. "Lead the way."

* * *

"Y'all know what time it is!"

"It's Off The Hook, live in Inkopolis Square to bring you an Inkopolis News Special Report!"

The Inkopolis News bulletins usually ran at 8AM and 5PM - almost never midday. The only exceptions were important breaking news - like the disappearance of, say, both the city's power source and one of its star idols - and its Special Reports.

And this wasn't just any special report, either. The news team had been hyping this up for a few days - a 'deep dive into the new discoveries surrounding humans'.

It seemed like the conclusion - or maybe the beginnings - to an ongoing series of discoveries of human artefacts and technology around the city. Few remembered the original story - about initial impacts around Inkopolis, and the recovery of a phone-like device from the Inkopolis News Studio - but interest had only grown since the next big story, the removal of an ancient car from the New Albacore Hotel a few weeks after.

Which is why many of the folks hanging out in Inkopolis Square at that time were focused on the screen affixed to the Deca Tower, where the familiar faces of Pearl and Marina, Off the Hook, introduced their story.

"So hey," Pearl began, addressing her cohost, "the producers have been hyping up this 'human' story for a while, huh?"

"I don't blame them!" Marina replied excitedly. "Yes, folks. Ever since the initial fossil discoveries five years ago, scientists of all walks of life have gathered at the Tentaport Institute of Humanities to further their, and our, knowledge of what we now know as the human race. Who were they? What did they look like? What lives did they lead? What did they wear? What music did they listen to?"

"A week ago," Pearl continued, straightening up in her chair, "the folks at Tentaport told us that they had made some key discoveries about humans, and asked if we would cover it. So, naturally, Marina went over."

The screen then cut to a panning shot of the front of the Institute. As it cycled through establishing shots of the Institute, its interiors, and its people, Marina's voice introduced the piece. "The Tentaport Institute of Humanities may be a new development in the scientific community, but many of its staff are well established in their fields: biology, archeology, anthropology, linguistics, history… Nowadays they have come together to help each other build a more complete picture of humans and the world, and life, in which they lived."

"As you can imagine," said an older Inkling that had just appeared on screen, the lower third introducing her as 'Mia Tura, Senior Researcher', "we have to read very deeply and try new methods to grab new information from twelve thousand year old fossils. But the recovery of a working mobile phone, computing device, and car from that time period has blown open the doors in a way we didn't think was possible even two months ago…"

* * *

The meeting area consisted of a gazebo and several benches around the edges of what was otherwise an open, grassy area for gatherings. The tall hedges kept this area private, 'separate' from the rest of the garden.

"Well, Miss Lily," Mia began, consulting the clipboard. "Let's start with the basics. Would you please tell me your full name?"

"Uhh, alright sure. Middle name too?"

Mia raised an eyebrow. "Just your first and family name shall be fine."

"Oh, okay. Then uh, I'm Lily Sunden."

"And your age?"

"20… in inkling years."

"OK. What about your human name?"

"Oh. Uh…" Lily took a deep breath. She seemed nervous "S-Simon. Simon… Grey."

"I see… Age in human years?"

"26."

"I see…" Mia wrote all this down. "How do you wish to be addressed?"

"Lily, please."

"Very well. Lily, As I'm sure you understand, we all have plenty of questions. But I guess I'll just start the interview proper with… well, how? Why?"

The younger inkling couldn't help but laugh a bit. "You know, I just found out for myself two months ago and I still don't get it." She took a few breaths, collected her thoughts, and began. "You should… dispel any thought that I'm here for a greater purpose. The reality is… less fantastical. Well, actually…" She shook her head. "I'm… I guess I'm the result of a failed time travel experiment. I mean, it worked, but I don't think I was the intended target. I was just a nobody on the edge of countryside Australia."

Mia's eyes lit up as she scribbled on her clipboard. "So… time travel is _possible_?"

"Eh…" Lily wobbled her hand from side to side, in a so-so manner. "I couldn't tell you how they did it. And besides me, I was only told they used it to transmit data between their time and one of their machines before it uh… broke down. But, _theoretically_ yes…" She shrugged her shoulders.

"…Hm." More writing. "So, knowing that now, how did you come to arrive in Inkopolis?"

Lily thought for a moment on how best to phrase her response. "So, when they did their experiment… These people… created their portal inside the earth underneath my home. That caused a ravine to form and split apart the earth. And from the sounds of things, while me _and_ my family fell into it, along with these things that you've been seeing around the city… I was the only one that was 'lucky' enough to fall into the portal." She sighed and looked away.

"I'm sorry, Lily."

"It's… it's fine. I've had some time to come to terms with that. On… on _this_ side of the portal, I guess it formed in the sky above the Octo Canyon, and I ended up falling into someone's ink. It's because of that that I became an inkling. But then… Hmm… Once I… made it to Inkopolis, two people in that area have been looking after and taking care of me since."

"I see. I've not been to the Octo Canyon, but I've certainly heard stories from some of my colleagues hailing from that area." Mia paused to write down what Lily had told her. "So how are you taking the form of an inkling, then? Does your species shapeshift, and if so, how often do you return to your human form?"

"Well…" Lily shifted about uncomfortably. "Humans don't really shapeshift in general. I mean, inklings and octolings have their respective marine forms, but humans don't have that. Everything we do, we do with our humanoid form."

Mia looked up with her eyebrow raised. "So then, how did your species climb walls, or swim, or partake in Turf War games?"

"Uhh…with my arms and legs?" Lily looked at her quizzically. "Granted, some walls were too smooth for us, but usually, there'll be some means for us to get up something. If we don't injure ourselves in the process. Or even in spite of injuring ourselves, thinking about it. For swimming, we'd just propel ourselves in the water with our limbs."

"In the _water_, you say?" Mia looked up with some interest, and wrote it down.

Lily nodded. "As for Turf War and weapons… well, actually, I think it would be best if I _didn't_ answer that in detail. I'll only say that we did have weapons, and they were more destructive than the ink-based guns you have now, and I beg you and Inkopolis _not_ to attempt to recreate our weaponry."

* * *

"Because of their bone structure," Mia would explain as she strolled alongside Marina in the gardens some time later, "they had no equivalent to the inkling squid form - they used locomotion to do everything, from swimming, to climbing. And they didn't have ink, to recharge, or fend off predators, or partake in turf wars. Instead to recharge themselves they'd drink water, and to defend themselves they'd make use of their limbs _as weapons_, or craft other weaponry to fight with…"

* * *

"So if you did not have an alternate form, then, how are you an inkling?"

Lily shook her head. "Sorry. I look like this for good now." She gestured at herself. "As I said earlier, when I came through on your side of the portal, I landed in a puddle of ink. Medical tests say that the inkling cells were corrupting or replacing my own—"

"Aaaah." Mia nodded suddenly. "Okay. Yes. I've been shown the test data."

"You… know?" Lily actually looked surprised.

"It was how we started to learn about you, of course. From Sheldon's DNA samples. You probably understand then how long we've been hoping to talk to you." She scribbled down some more notes. "So from your perspective then… why do you think that that happened?"

"Well… I'm attributing it to just evolution." Lily shrugged. "Y'know, how life will gain new defenses and then evolve more potent defenses and so on. Now, I don't _know_ this but, I imagine marine life has been doing that constantly for thousands and thousands of years. But I was exactly the same human from twelve thousand years back, with no opportunity to evolve against any of these traits. So I landed in the ink, and it just… went wild with my body. I had no chance."

"So then you're… an inkling now?"

"Yes. Well, I guess an inkling with a human's mind, _but_, an inkling in form and function nonetheless."

"I see, I see." She sat back and thought for a few moments. "So, then, how have you taken to life in Inkopolis?"

"Hmm." Lily took her time responding to this one. "I suppose things have been about fifty times more interesting since I got here. I'm _certainly_ more physically active, with turf wars and such… Work is… well for now work is just finding stuff that arrived when I did, retrieving as much of that stuff as I can. Making sure that can all be preserved. I've already made a number of close friends, though more out of circumstance. I actually feel that I'm generally… happier here."

Mia smiled. "We're glad to hear that. I'm no fitness expert, but I think some of your increased activity would also be responsible for your increased happiness."

* * *

"We can be proud that today's society brings together marine life of all kinds," spoke a biologist to the camera. "It appears so far that while humans shared the planet with all types of creatures, none of them shared quite the same sapiency. Some came close - an ancient marine species called 'dolphins' and the pre-human 'primates' - but humans and their cities and constructions dominated most of the planet's landscape at the time."

* * *

The adult inkling checked her notes. "Any challenges you feel are unique to you? Any advantages?"

"Uhh, well certainly finding out what was the norm was a task…" Lily let out a little laugh. "The friends I had had at the time were busy, so while they'd taught me a little bit, I ended up having to just sorta observe and learn, and hopefully not draw _too_ much attention… And that went, er… 'well'. Uh.. advantages… I suppose an outside perspective of the city and its people have allowed me to um… think outside the box a little bit?"

Mia nodded. From the sound of things, there didn't seem to be too many unexpected challenges. But as she looked through her notes so far, something was bothering her, the extreme difference between both ages she had given… "If I may return to your age for a moment," she said, "How did you decide on 20 as your 'inkling' age?"

Lily nodded. She understood. "It was the best estimate that I could come up with, basically. Human years were 365 days. Well, not _exactly_ 365, but for most purposes we go with that…"

* * *

"It seems the discoveries at Tentaport are only just beginning," Marina explained in her report, "and they are even double checking their work with other fields outside of the Institute, like the little-known Dopefish Observatory, outside of the city."

"We currently believe," the chief astronomer at the Observatory communicated to Marina and the audience via a recorded video-link conversation, "that from what we've seen of Tentaport's findings, the earth and the moon used to spin just a little faster around our sun in the human era. That may not seem like much, but that means shorter, and _fewer_ days compared to today. From what we know so far, it seems humans celebrated a new year every 365 days… except for once every four years, in which they added an extra day. We don't know why, yet."

"In addition to that," Marina told the camera in a new solo shot as she walked toward it, "humans marked their years differently to our society today. Whereas we mark the new year on the day the moon is closest to us, humans marked one full cycle of the planet around the sun on the day it was _closest_ to the sun. Where we watched the tides, they instead watched the bright skies."

* * *

Lily took a deep breath, and allowed herself a laugh and grin. "I promise I'm not actually that smart, but y'know, I got curious and had an idea of where to look. Plus I didn't feel comfortable just saying I was 26 while my friends and colleagues were more mature than me and yet were like 6+ years younger."

Mia grinned. "That's fair. We could probably have someone look into the math for you, figure out what your true age would be. Do any of your friends know about your true self…? Aside from Sheldon, of course."

Lily nodded. "All of my closest friends, and a few that I check in with now and then. And the two that found me when I had first, ah, 'landed' and was unconscious. They've seen my human…self."

"And you trust them?"

"Of course. You've not heard anything about me from the public, have you?"

"I suppose not," Mia admitted. Then, thinking back, she added, "though there was that news story about the ancient car, and Pearl… oh! That was _you_ she mentioned, wasn't it? So _those two_ have figured you out, at least."

Lily sighed, and nodded. She'd forgotten that Pearl, one half of Off The Hook and the Inkopolis News, had ratted her out before the duo had learned what was really going on. "I'm… surprised less people picked up on that. Maybe they did and thought it was a joke."

"Perhaps." Mia stood, and gestured for Lily to do the same as she began to walk. "So how did you come to interact with them?"

"I mean…" Lily pushed herself up onto her feet as they made their way back out into the gardens. "I was there when the car was brought down from the roof of that hotel and they were doing that news piece. I…" She seemed to pause for a moment, like she had to decide what to tell, what to leave out. "I think they were starting to figure out where the things that struck Inkopolis a few months ago actually came from, and they kept seeing me with these things. I guess they pieced enough together to call me out directly, and… yeah, they found out. They were not very happy, hence Pearl's callout, but… I think we managed to convince them I was alright." Lily frowned.

"Do you keep in contact with them?"

"A little. Not very much at the moment."

"I see. Alright." Mia looked at her notes so far. "Well, from what I've heard so far, I think you may be able to help us further in identifying some of our discoveries."

As they walked along the gardens, toward the row of displays of human fossils and artefacts (none she recognised as belonging to her, so far), they passed along another tall hedge separating another private part of the garden. Mia led Lily into the area, and as she saw what was inside, the ex-human's mouth fell open.

Among the items gathered here at Tentaport, was the ancient car - a Ford Falcon - lifted from the New Albacore Hotel's roof.

_Lily's_ car.

* * *

"Interestingly," Mia remarked to Marina, who was behind the camera in the current shot, "humans didn't only communicate in one language. Though most research has been done into what was apparently called 'English', several other writing scripts have been discovered in ruins and other discoveries. We think that humans in different cities, or perhaps different parts of the world, both spoke and wrote different languages, but we've not conclusively proved that yet."

"Fascinating!" Marina said, genuinely excited. "Do you think the different humans would have ever needed to talk to each other? And if so, how do you believe they bridged the language gap?"

"So far we don't know enough to say for sure. But most of what we've found is in this 'English', and some of this text is in English alongside other scripts. It's possible that English was the 'main' language of humans, at least at one point, or common enough that many people knew it alongside their preferred language."

* * *

Mia procured a key from a ring in her pocket, and carefully unlocked the display next to the vehicle that held its keys, and carefully handed them to Lily.

Lily clutched them tightly to her chest, like she had lost them for a long time. Mia supposed that she actually had. She turned toward the car and pointed a small device on the keyring toward it, pushing one of its buttons.

Mia jumped when the vehicle responded with a strange shifting noise. "Uh - what did you just do…?"

Lily smiled, and walked towards the vehicle, reaching for the driver's side door handle. "Unlocked it," she told the older inkling with a smile as she pulled the door open.

The young inkling slid into the driver's seat of the vehicle as smoothly as any other driver would, Mia included. She sat back against the black seat cover with the red 'dragon tattoo'-styled print, taking it all in. "God, it's great to be back," she said to herself, opening various compartments, checking what was there. "Though I did expect this," she said to Mia, gesturing at the steering wheel. "Being unable to see out the front properly."

"Well, humans _were_ taller," Mia noted with a grin.

"Sure, but, y'know, this world is sized for y'all so that I forget that a lot." She leaned across to the passenger seat's glove compartment, and started rummaging through it, pulling out manuals and service logs. "But like I actually _feel_ small in this thing."

"How many people is it supposed to fit?"

"Five." She nodded her head toward the back seats. "That middle seat is smaller, but yeah. Come, take a seat. I've got some driving stories to tell."

* * *

"What we know about humans is increasing at a rapid pace now that Tentaport has decoded the English script," Marina said as the camera panned across the institute's various displays. "And it's only bound to keep doing so. With so much to learn, wouldn't it be nice to just _meet one_ and ask them about their lives?"

The last shot of the report was one more interview scene with Marina and Mia. "So far it seems that humans lived similar lives to our own, Mia. Do you think that they could live among us if they were somehow still alive?"

"Not at all, if the entire human race came knocking on Inkopolis's doorstep," Mia laughed. "For just a few, or even one human, perhaps… They… would have plenty of trouble using many of the things that we do, due to their larger size, but who's to say that they, or we, couldn't adjust? As it stands now, however, with this old world essentially opened up to us, we feel that there is still plenty to learn about them, the past, and the planet we all live on."

The film faded to black.

When it faded back up, viewers were greeted by Pearl and Marina, back in the studio. "Sounds like you had an enlightening time over there," smirked Pearl to her co-host.

"That I did!" Marina squealed. "And I had such a great time putting all that together with our crew as well! Thank you to the staff and especially Doctor Mia Tura of the Tentaport Institute of Humanities for reaching out and collaborating with us on that special report."

"And thanks for droppin' all that sweet knowledge!" Pearl grinned to the camera. "Both of you!"

"Aww, Pearlie…" Marina blushed and grinned. "Mia was a pleasure to talk to, and it was lovely to explore these …theoretical situations with her as well."

"No doubt they'll continue to stun us with more stories about the human world in the future," Pearl nodded. "Well, that'll do it from us! Thanks for checkin' this special report with us!"

"And until next time…"

"Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!"  
"Don't get cooked, stay off the hook!"

The screen in Inkopolis Square cut back to its usual billboard display.

"…So," Pearl started, a few seconds after they'd gone off the air and the crew manning the cameras and mics had left the studio. "You reckon _she_ had a hand in that?"

"Lily? Yeah, of course she would," Marina grinned. "I mean, I trust those guys at the Institute. But to suddenly get all this info, _and_ an English cipher? Yeah, that's totally her."

"You reckon she's 'out'?"

"Nah. I mean, Mia knew we knew about her, and even then, around the cameras she never mentioned Lily. I imagine she made sure they kept quiet about her. That girl's still keeping her old life secret."

"Mmm." Pearl paused and turned to her phone for a few moments. After a few seconds of silence she said, "I'm gonna message her. Get this confirmed."

* * *

"Oh my gosh, that's a Wii U," Lily stared in amazement as Mia introduced the fossil excavation.

"A… what?" Mia glanced at her, then back to the fossil. "It seems like it would be a game console of some kind, like those, er, Gamestations and Nintendos we have here."

"It is!" Lily grinned. "Exactly like… those." Even a month ago she was absolutely stunned that a company called Nintendo that produced game consoles and games still existed in Inkopolis - but the novelty had worn off since and she had accepted it as just another weird thing about this world. No doubt a wild coincidence.

"Well, that was easy," Mia laughed. "Alright, well, that's about everything that _I_ had to ask. This has been a very enlightening discussion, thank you, Miss Lily."

"Not a problem, I hope I've been at least some help…" Lily smiled to her.

"More than you know. We just have one last stop before we send you home, though we would like to follow up on some of your answers in the future. How much do you know of the language you grew up speaking?"

Lily cocked an eyebrow. "I remember the English alphabet very well still. The structure of our languages seem to be similar enough that any translation should be relative light work, I would hope."

"I see." Mia looked like she had just struck gold. "Do you think you could provide some details and a cipher of your alphabet to ours to our chief linguist?"

Lily thought, considering the offer. _Providing the basics wouldn't be too hard. I can only tell them so much with my limited knowledge, but with an alphabet they could at least start to decipher our text._ "I don't see why not," she finally replied, with a warm smile. "Again, I'm no expert, but I should be able to provide enough for you to do what you are trying to do…"

"That's all we ask." Mia smiled, and started to head for one of the doors back inside, out of the gardens. "Please follow me, then."

* * *

Lily stepped back out of the front doors of the Tentakeel Institute of Humanities nearly two and a half hours after she had entered them. She had poured as much of her knowledge of the old world as she could to the chief researcher who had sought her out.

And before she had left, she had given them the means to decode even more discoveries and knowledge from the human era.

She turned briefly to face the building again. She wondered what they would find first.

She pulled out her main phone. It was an inkPhone like most squids owned, and she'd put a snazzy retro case on it.

_First things first._ She opened the camera on the phone and took a selfie standing in front of the building, pulling her hoodie up as she did. She sent the resulting photo to her partner, with the message 'Just got out, how's Ranked treating you?'.

Then she plugged in some earphones, started up a music playlist on the phone, then popped the phone in her pocket and began to stroll along the street, blending in with the marine life walking along the sidewalk as she made her way toward a train station.


	24. The Salmon Dance

The boat sailed through the choppy waters as it made its way toward the third outpost they were scheduled to operate at today.

Aside from a single staff member overseeing supplies (the boat was being remotely steered), the only people on board were Remo, Lorne, Lily, and Eight.

All four of them were Agents of the New Squidbeak Splatoon, Agents 3, 4, 5, and 8 respectively.

And unbeknownst to Grizzco, they were on a mission today.

This was their first day taking Grizzco shifts - their 'intended' job was to visit three sites in the territory, cull the Salmonid population as they came ashore to breed and lay Power Eggs, collect said eggs - _especially_ the eggs that came from the bigger, more advanced Salmonids, what Mr. Grizz had called 'Golden Eggs' - and deposit them at a collection point before moving on to the next site to do the same thing.

Grizzco work was hard enough – the tiny Salmonids, the Chum, swarmed if you let them get too close and overwhelmed you, and the big guys, the Cohocks, hit hard with their frying pans and would down you quickly. Not to mention all of the horrifying machines and monsters that seemed to form the backbone of the attacks when the team stepped onto the ground, dividing your attention every which way just trying to stay alive long enough to figure out how to take them down to take their Golden Eggs. And the weather here was an anomaly - fog could roll in at short notice, plunging team efforts into chaos, and the unnatural tides sometimes meant there was nowhere to run or swim when you got surrounded.

Lorne was most used to the work, having done this the most. Remo, with all his New Squidbeak Splatoon training and the situations he'd been through with Cap'n Cuttlefish, had become more comfortable with the task, more quickly than Lily or Agent Eight, who had only been trained against Inklings or Octolings and were still reduced to panic and fright when the going got tough and Salmonids began swarming in on them.

Their mission, the one they had been forced to go to Grizzco for, only added stress to the team.

For it was known to the four agents that somewhere in this dreary, unnerving part of the world, was some item from the human era.

And they wanted to recover it before it was lost, or perhaps destroyed.

At the front of the deck, watching and waiting for the next outpost, the next chance to find this artefact, were Remo and Lorne chatting away about the better ways to take down the 'boss' Salmonid creatures. Meanwhile, Lily and 'Eight' sat just outside the cabin and shared one of the few food rations they had been allotted for the day.

Lily watched her coworkers suspiciously.

Callie and Marie, the Squid Sisters, and in a sense her superiors in the New Squidbeak Splatoon, had caught up to her and Lorne and, while talking, had learned that she still didn't remember the latter half of her encounter with Tartar. But more to the point, _none_ of the others had seen fit to fill her in from their perspective, not even Lorne.

"She's just not ready yet!" Lorne had protested. "It'll hurt her!"

But the Sisters had, over Lorne's complaints, seen fit to tell Lily what had happened, as the Cap'n had told it to them - how she had been found linked to Commander Tartar, in the process of being cooked alive when the Cap'n, Remo, Lorne, Pearl, and Marina lost her radio signal. How she had 'totally lost it' as Marie put it, attacking him repeatedly with a makeshift weapon until he was totally destroyed, ranting and screaming throughout. And how she had simply keeled over once it was all over, and the others had carried her back to the train station and watched her nervously until they could get her back to Inkopolis and more importantly, to a hospital.

"It seems," Marie finished, "that your actions out there frightened a few of our friends. And perhaps," she glanced meaningfully at Lorne, "they elected not to tell you because they worried you would lash out at them…"

Of course Lily was angry – but moreso hurt. Her trust had taken a hit. But in her brief time at Grizzco, the first mission she had taken with the Squidbeaks since their expedition to the Triggerfish Forest, her diminished anger and frustration had turned to a new target: Mr. Grizz himself.

_'Just stay alive til the end of your shift.' God the way he was so casual about saying that…_

"Lily," Eight grumbled, an Octoling boy with his tentacles styled in a mohawk, and Lily snapped out of her thoughts to glance at him. "Why'd you have to go and get one of your things lost in this awful place?"

Lily finally finished swallowing the small bite she'd taken from the bread they were sharing, and offered it to him again. "Excuse you, mate," she told him flatly, her mood shot. "I hope you're joking, because I had no say in the matter, and I hate this as much as you do."

Eight nodded, and sighed, taking the bread. What was left of their will after yesterday had worn away, and they still had two outposts to check out.

"Ye'll pull into Marooner's Bay shortly," called the voice of Mr. Grizz, broadcasting over the boat's loudspeakers. "Lookin' clear on the coast, tide's low but not too bad. Yer doin' well so far, kids. Keep it up."

Lily sighed, and once Eight has finished his bite, they set the rations aside and climbed to their feet, slowly making their way over to Remo and Lorne.

Together they watched the beached, deconstructed ship hull come into view, the abandoned refinery and wooded coast just beyond it. The odd towers and buoys hovering nearby... It made Lily uneasy, still.

Lorne bent down in front of the one carry-on they were allowed, on the floor with them, and with the others blocking the supply staff from seeing, pulled out an odd weapon-looking device.

It was a scanner, tuned to a uniquely trackable 'scent' particle that had so far emitted from every thing they had collected so far from the human era.

Lorne held it out toward the Marooner's Bay, holding the trigger down, and panned it in a slow arc, from one side of the area to the other. The others held their breath or crossed their fingers.

And as it pointed toward the small beach on the coast, the scanner started to make loud clicking noises, akin to a geiger counter.

The object they were seeking was here.

"Oh, thank goodness," Remo noted with a sigh of relief. "We've finally found it." He turned to Lily, a relieved but nervous look on his face. "That's something to be happy for, right?"

Lily grumbled. "I mean, _yes_, but I think we still need to actually hold the Salmonids at bay long enough to do what we need to..." She glanced at him with a concerned look, and Remo's eyes darted away.

The ex-human sighed and watched as their Grizzco boat inched closer to their destination.

The two boys had been almost keeping her at arm's length, especially while they were on this mission. They seemed almost scared of her when she started to get frustrated with Mr. Grizz, or the so-called 'Boss Salmonids', as if she was going to start hurting them instead if they interfered.

Lily shook the thoughts away. She didn't need to stress about that just yet. She turned her attention to the workspace in front of her. As the boat swung around, giving her and the others a complete view of the Marooner's Bay, Lorne continued to scan the boat's structure and the area around it, trying to narrow down the location of the artefact they were seeking.

"Alright, get your gear and prepare to go to work," Mr. Grizz ordered them over the speakers. "They're due to start coming up any moment, so DON'T MISS ANY PRECIOUS GOLDEN EGGS!"

Eight and Lily winced as Grizz suddenly shouted the last words, and everyone moved to various parts of the ship to get the tanks and weapons they had been allotted for the day. Lorne, as soon as she was done, rushed to move their carry-on.

As the single staff member on board quickly moved to find fresh stocks of special kits, Lorne approached Lily as she fastened the tank to her back and held the scoped E-Liter 4K Grizzco had lent her for the day, with a moment of just wishing she had something more similar to the weapons she had already used.

Lorne reached over the side of the boat, towards two tall, thin canisters that held legally mandated liferafts. She grabbed one, stuffed it into the carry-on, and held the full bag toward Lily. "Bad news, hun. Looks like it's in the water toward the coast. Stash this somewhere on that side of the worksite, and be ready to move as soon as it's clear. Alright?"

Agent 5 sighed, and nodded, taking the bag. "Alright. Here's hoping that old suit works still. Let's go to work."

"AND WEAR YOUR RADIOS, FOR GOODNESS SAKE!" Grizz barked again, apropos of nothing.

Everyone grumbled, gathering back at the front, fully equipped and radioed up. It was a requirement of the job – Mr. Grizz seemed the type to keep a very close eye on the job, and wanted to be able to hear every word of the team's communications – something the New Squidbeak Splatoon were not thrilled with... but they'd figured out a way to keep their plans secret, at least until they needed to take control of the situation.

"Everyone remember the strategy?" Lorne said confidently, the first words broadcasted back to Mr. Grizz, now that their 'break' was over. "Once we get on-site, spread out, cover the whole space. We need fast movement away from the Salmonids. Once that's done, or if they arrive prematurely, we'll meet on the low terrain. Since it's low tide, they'll likely make landfall there. Then it's just business as usual."

Remo, Eight and Lily nodded. "Any idea how long they'll attempt to come aground?" Remo asked.

"Not over til it's over, rookie," Grizz told them over the headsets, calmer. "Just get as many eggs as you can and stay alive."

The boat eventually came to a halt between the coast and the wrecked boat, and the single staff member immediately went to work lowering the ship's anchor from the controls in the cabin. "Alright, here's our stop," Grizz remarked. "Get to work."

"...Alright." Lorne nodded to her coworkers, then shifted and super jumped off toward the wrecked boat on the bay.

Remo, Lily, and Eight were right behind her, and as soon as they landed they were off, Remo covering the far side of the coast with a Roller, Eight inking the boat itself with a Blaster, Lorne heading south to ink up some of the beach with a pair of Dualies, and Lily left to cover the docks with her Charger-type weapon.

For Lily, she made a beeline for the farthest dock, closest to the coast, where a buoy gently bobbed just beside it. Inking straight lines with the E-Liter she was given, she raced over there with the bag she had been given, ran up the few steps toward it, then leapt up, lifted her body onto the buoy itself briefly, and deposited the bag, tying it to one of its supports to keep it safe.

Leaping back down, she looked up at it. _No way to see it from down here. Excellent._

Waiting to charge up a shot was bothersome, but she quickly found that the resulting blast from the E-Liter travelled quite far - enough so that she was able to roughly coat the dock in ink from one end. She spent a minute or so inking up as much of the area as she could, working her way up back toward the beach, where the group were to meet.

"HEY!" The voice of Mr. Grizz barked in Lily's ear, and she winced. "Quit dallying, inkling! Your friends are waiting for you! Go go go!"

_Well he wasn't watching then,_ Lily remarked in her head. _At least I don't look suspicious, just_ _stupid. I can deal with that for now..._

She met up with the others down by a basket on the beach two minutes later. "All set?" Remo asked her as she arrived.

Lily gave the group a thumbs up. "All set. Let's do this."

"Noticing a bit more activity than normal around here," Grizz radioed to them. "I'll activate one of the cannons. Profreshional, I want you on that. Cover your friends."

"If you say so, Grizz," Lorne replied, and looked up toward the wreck they were standing in front of, where an odd orb-shape cannon blinked to life, switched on remotely. She began to make her way around the side, up the propeller lifts so she could get to it.

As they heard the cannon above turn on, Lorne manning the control, they all heard the sound of a horn being blown, somewhere off the coast.

The Salmonids were beginning their attack.

They rushed ashore from the leftmost stretch of beach, about ten of the small and regular Salmonids, the Smallfries and Chums as Lorne had told the others. They charged toward the three on the beach in a frenzy as more horns sounded in the background.

Lily, Remo and Eight launched into action. "Behind me!" Remo shouted, leading the charge, Roller down and splatting a line down the middle of the charging Salmonids. Eight followed, Blasting enemies down the side of the charge at any Salmonids that they passed while Lily, hanging back, carefully picked off the more distant targets.

Another horn sounded and Lorne's cannon turned. Over the radio she called, "Lily, take the right! They're coming up there now!"

Lily backed off and inked up a path over to the opposite stretch of beach, where indeed more of the crazed creatures were surfacing. Behind them emerged a Cohock, one of the larger Salmonids Lily had been told about, who looked tough and looked like a heavy hitter with that big frying pan he carried. And behind _him_...

Lily faltered for a moment as she saw the tower of pots rise into view. More and more of them. The collection was at least four times her height. And on top was a... mechanical head of sorts. It whipped around wildly as it searched for something to lock onto.

"There! Get its eggs!" Grizz called in her ear.

But the approaching Salmonids on the ground took Lily's attention first, and she pulled back as she charged up her E-Liter and let off a blast, taking out a line of Salmonids in a line, save the Cohock at the back - though well-inked it wasn't quite through yet.

The fire of a cannon behind her made her jump slightly, and a moment later a blast of explosive ink took out even more of the horde that had made it ashore. A second blast, aimed at the tower of pots, knocked many of them away. "Quick, knock the last few away!" Lorne called over her radio. "Before it can fire off its Sting Ray!"

Lily rushed forward as the Stinger's eyes locked onto the duo of Remo and Eight on the other side of the beach, dealing with their own horde, and flung a Splat Bomb toward it even as she approached. The bomb, bouncing along the ground, detonated quickly and the two pots it still had were flung back into the sea, and the head slammed into the burner at its base and burst, revealing three Golden Eggs.

She ran up to them, grabbed one, and tried to grab another - but found that they were too big for her to do that. She fretted for a moment, wondering what to do...

"C'mon kid! Go!" Grizz shouted in her ear. "Deposit that one and come back!"

"Don't worry, Lily! I'll make sure they can't grab those in the meantime!" Lorne called.

Lily nodded and, leaving another bomb behind her, ran for the egg basket.

Meanwhile, Remo and Eight were taking care of their own rush of Salmonids. Neither had really worked with each other until now - the only idea they had of the other's competence was their battle from what felt like long ago.

It felt strange to Remo to put his trust in an Octoling, even after everything he and Eight had been through. But thankfully, either due to his military training or his time in the Metro, Eight was doing well with the weapon he'd been loaned. The Roller that Remo had been given was doing well enough for the small enemies, such that the two could just mow through them.

"Boss! To our left!" Eight called, suddenly firing at something emerging from the ocean. Remo whipped around, coming face to face with a Steelhead.

Remo's face dropped. They hadn't faced one of these yet. "Lorne!" He called into the radio as he and Eight backed off, firing at the great beast, though their ink splashed harmlessly off its armor. "We got a Steelhead. What's the strategy?"

"Not doing that," Mr. Grizz told them flatly.

"You wanna help them be a better worker or not, Grizz?!" Lorne chastised, hoping her profreshional status would protect her. "Wait for it to start charging a bomb, guys, then attack that!" As she spoke, another boom from the cannon sounded, and an explosive ink round landed among the mass of creatures further back on the beach, splatting and dispersing them.

"Got it," Remo replied, and glanced at Eight briefly. "I'm not sure I can get enough height with a Roller fling, Eight. I'll do what I can to fend everything else off if you can attack that."

Eight met his glance and nodded at him.

And then they both heard the sound of something growing, inflating.

Remo and Eight both turned toward the noise, and saw the Steelhead, and something filling up on its head.

The bomb.

Eight's weapon instinctively snapped back up and he fired his Blaster toward it, even as he and Remo backed away, Eight heading back through their ink and Remo pushing forward through with the Roller.

Despite several good shots on the Steelhead's bomb, it still shot off from its head, toward Eight.

"Three! The bomb! I'm backing off!" Eight called as he zipped backwards in octopus form as the projectile landed where he had been, exploding a moment later in a splash of dark, sickly green, after which he charged back into the fray.

The crew was kept busy over the next half-hour, even as at points the attack lulled and Lily, Remo and Eight were able to briefly regroup underneath Lorne's cannon, sharing encouraging words and checking on how many Golden Eggs they had accrued. Otherwise they worked in pairs as Remo and Eight, and Lily and Lorne repelled the Salmonids.

And then, suddenly there were none left ashore. The Agents looked around and waited for a minute, thinking it just another lull, but then Mr. Grizz's voice came in over the radios. "Looks like they're backing off. And we got a decent collection of eggs out of it. It'll do. Alright, come back to the boat."

Lily and Eight let out an audible sigh of relief. The former checked her hat. _Excellent_, she thought to herself. She still had both Splashdown charges. She'd need them.

Remo gave her a nod, knowing what was next, and after Lily handed him her weapon to take back, he and Lorne super-jumped back over to the Grizzco boat.

The remaining team, however, rushed away from the beach over to the dock area. As Lily climbed up onto the buoy to retrieve the bag she had left earlier, thankfully untouched, Mr. Grizz radioed them again. "Hey. Kids. Yer done here. And company rules forbid bringing external equipment on-site. Return to the boat."

Agents Five and Eight ignored him. Instead Five radioed to their counterparts on the boat. "Aight Three, Four, I'm suiting up." They unzipped the bag and pulled everything out - the deployable liferaft, the old diving suit and the Tracker. Lily immediately set about putting the suit on, with Eight to help.

"Is that a liferaft FROM MY BOAT?!" Grizz shouted at them. "That's private property! RETURN TO THE BOAT, WITH THAT RAFT! Or we're writing you off," he finished, threatening them.

She tucked her tentacles into the suit, then fitted the diving helmet on over her head and fastened it to the rest of the suit. She keyed her mic as Eight grabbed the liferaft tube and deployed it into the water next to them, then began to use the Tracker to scan for the artefact they were here for. "We're not deserting. Give us three minutes and our mission will be over. Waters clear, guys?"

Remo, scoped in with Lily's loaned E-Liter, responded, Lorne with a pair of binoculars beside him. "Looks like it. Could change though. Better hurry. Hope that suit works."

"What is going on here?!" Grizz growled in frustration, realising the situation was falling out of his control.

Once Lily was suited up and the raft was ready to go, Eight pointed stood back and nodded. "Good luck, Agent 5," the Octoling said. "I'd better get back to the boat."

Lily nodded as she slid from the dock into the small liferaft. "Make sure he doesn't leave without me," she replied with a smirk.

As she heard Eight super jump away, she nervously took hold of the paddles the raft had been deployed with. _Better work fast_, she thought as she experimentally tested each one, taking a moment to remember how to row, before setting off, rowing as hard as she could against the waters, trying to move fast.

"...So, 'Agent', huh?" Mr. Grizz returned after a few quiet moments of rowing, quieter, calmer but still angry. "Yes, I've heard stories from the war, of the Squidbeak Splatoon and their so-called 'daring missions'. But I assumed you folks had disbanded long ago. Or perhaps," he wondered aloud to her, "you four are slimy hipster wannabes trying to play spy...Trying to follow in the footsteps of your heroes. What're you even here for, anyway? Why're yer disrespectin' my business, my efforts?"

"Oh wh— Lily, we're starting to move!" Lorne radioed in. Lily's eyes snapped toward the boat, to her right, and saw that indeed it was starting to slowly move off from its position.

"Stop it!" Lily called back anxiously, checking the waters around her again with the Tracker. She was now about thirty meters out, and judging by the clicking of the Tracker, she was nearly above it. She pushed herself to keep rowing further. "I'm almost there!"

"What're yer expectin' to find, kid?" Grizz chimed in again. "You realise that you're surrounded by death, right?"

"...I'm aware," Lily finally replied to him. "But there's something here we need to preserve. An item of the past that we can't lose."

"And? Even if that were true, you realise anything found in these territories belongs to Grizzco Industries? I'm not lettin' ya smuggle whatever it is out of here, not without some compensation at least. Either way, I've decided I'm not interested in sticking around to see if you survive. Thanks for the Golden Eggs. Farewell."

Lily grumbled, pushing harder, rowing as fast as she was able. Even with her friends struggling against the remotely-piloted Grizzco boat, she now had a time limit. Even if she did survive what she had to do... she did not want to be stranded.

"Five! Behind you!" Remo called over the radio, and Lily turned to see...

A bobbing fishing lure, making its way toward her craft.

Maws.

As the boats grew closer together, the Grizzco boat taking a path around the Marooner's Bay to get back to the open waters, Remo let loose a shot of pressurized E-Liter ink that shot into the water, aimed at the creature that awaited just underneath the lure as it grew closer to Lily. It had no effect.

But then the lure disappeared beneath Lily's raft, and her eyes went wide.

"LILY! QUICK! BOMB!" Lorne shouted hurriedly.

Lily did two things.

She unholstered a Splat Bomb from its holster, set its fuse and dropped it on the boat.

And as she did, she pushed herself up and over the front of the boat as she tore open and activated one of the special sachets.

Activating a Splashdown.

Maws made its appearance as she did, crashing through the flimsy inflatable raft and tearing it to shreds, inadvertantly gulping down the Splat Bomb she'd left.

And as she hovered in the air, moments before the Splashdown mechanism would fling her downward toward the ground, she saw Maws burst, cooked from the inside by the bomb. Three Golden Eggs floated in the water next to her, amongst remnants of the raft she was just in.

And then Agent 5 was flung into the water, propelled by the Splashdown's power.

She sank like a stone.

"Lily?!" Eight radioed in in a panic.

"Lily, you alright?" Agent 4 also called in. "Let us know as soon as you can. I don't see your spirit, which I _think_ is good..."

The water was murky with a greenish tinge. She looked around as she sank, trying to see anything around her. But she couldn't see a thing.

She got the impression after a moment that her descent had halted, or at least slowed to a crawl. She took the other Splashdown satchel and tore it open, and as it activated she felt the water rush past her as she sank with renewed force.

She was surprised when her feet touched the rocky, dusty ground. Sooner than she had expected. Visibility was rotten - she only seemed to be able to see two meters in front of her. The diving suit was holding up, but the water pressure pushing against her, trying to crush her, was incredibly uncomfortable.

She also realised quickly that she, and her fellow agents, had neglected to find a working oxygen tank for the diving suit. The oxygen she had was whatever had seeped in from the surface.

The sooner she finished this the better.

Agent 5 took steps through the water, working in almost slow motion, continuing toward where the Tracker had last indicated the presence of the artefact. Finally she breathed, "This is surreal... It has to be nearby."

"Oh thank goodness you're alive!" Four called in. "Any sign of it yet?"

"No," Five replied, scanning the area with her eyes - the Tracker would be rendered useless under the water, and so it was fixed to Lily's waist inside the suit. "I can't be far off though..."

The sea floor was nearly barren here. Here and there were vague signs that Salmonid nests may have passed through or lived nearby - frying pans and cooking utensils were the most common thing she saw down here.

She found herself approaching what looked like a nest of sorts. _Uh oh..._ she stepped carefully, but couldn't see any creatures about. Not yet, anyway...

And then, among what was seemingly a pile of 'treasure', she saw it.

It looked like a black brick with wires hanging out of it.

It looked like an external storage drive, like those she'd seen in IT stores across Inkopolis.

Carefully, making sure nothing saw her, she picked it up to examine worn... the text and logo on its top was human.

This was it.

She held it tightly to her and leapt up, beginning to swim back upward, as her lungs began to ache, struggling to find new oxygen in her suit.

"Got it...!" she radioed in briefly. "Coming up..."

"Good work!" Remo said cheerfully. "We managed to stop the boat from moving, so we'll be right here for you. Eight and Lorne are on their way out in the other liferaft."

Agent 5 said nothing in response, trying to focus on swimming upward with one arm holding the device to her. Swimming like this only exerted her more, and she began to feel ill, and the pain in her lungs grew.

With the murky waters, she couldn't tell just how far it was to the surface. How far had those Splashdowns taken her?

The water started to lighten up as she swam, not sure how much longer she would las—

And then Lily broke the surface suddenly and the bright sunlight nearly blinded her as she treaded water, looking around.

"There!" She heard the voice of Lorne nearby, and spun around.

She and Eight were nearby, paddling over to her.

Thank goodness.

She was saved.

* * *

Once everyone had made it back to the Grizzco boat and Eight had disabled the jammer that had blocked Mr. Grizz from guiding the boat, Lily and the others laid on the deck as they were guided back toward Inkopolis.

Once Mr. Grizz had re-established contact with the boat, he was _furious_. His first order of business was to ban them from working shifts as one team. Then, despite having one more outpost to head to, he set about navigating the boat back to civilization. "The sooner you four are off this boat and out of my shop the better," he had grumbled.

The Agents would later leave the Grizzco front into Inkopolis Square, denied their bonuses (except for Lorne, but only because she was a proven profreshional) and head toward the subway station. Eight, having become one of the more technologically-minded of the group, took the drive they had recovered as Lily explained how old drive storage worked to the best of her ability. He would try to repair what he could of it, since the drive was waterlogged.

He left on the train, waving to the others.

They'd find out what was salvageable from the disk, eventually.

Remo, Lily and Lorne saw Eight off, and then headed back and over to Crusty Sean's stall to for a Schwaffle and a drink.

They'd earned it.


	25. On A Rail

_Author's Note: This takes place during the Legacy arc, during chapters: Metal Bork and Age of Enlightenment._

Deepsea Metro Central Station had seen better days.

The power had long since dipped into emergency mode, pitching much of the station into darkness. A third of the lights along the central platform were dimly lit, and everything else electric was unpowered in the station, aside from the trains which seemed to run off generators of some kind.

The doors of one such train opened, and two Inklings disembarked onto the platform, observed by a small, blue, bioluminescent creature.

"Thank you for travelling the Deepsea Metro with us," said C.Q. Cumber, the sea cucumber, in his usual conductor-y tone. "We hope you'll travel with us again."

"Until the next time!" A voice from inside the carriage called cheerfully.

"Don't worry compadre," the elderly inkling called back. "You'll see us again soon!"

"Iso Padre, actually," replied the voice. "I'll look forward to it."

The doors came to a close with pleasant warning beeps, and slowly pulled away from the station, leaving the inklings alone.

The elder of the two, Cap'n Craig Cuttlefish, was a war veteran, leader of a group that protected Inkopolis from the 'Octarian Menace'.

At least, they used to be a menace. Craig wasn't too sure anymore, what with this whole 'Agent 8' business.

Time and aging had sapped him of his body's capacity to create ink, and his body itself had very little fat. While he was in no capacity to fight anymore, he still knew his way around a battlefield, and where the resources of the New Squidbeak Splatoon could be focused.

That was where Agent 3 came in.

A male, young adult inkling with long hair that he often tied up when working, Remo had been working alongside Cap'n Cuttlefish for two years now, and had come to consider him as a friend, a guide along this side of the world he'd increasingly invested himself in.

They regarded their task with some concern.

The day before, their musician friends Pearl and Marina, their contact with the surface (since radio communication with the rest of the Splatoon had been... ineffective) had informed them that a human, or ex-human, had made their way into the ranks.

Never mind the fact that they were supposed to still be extinct...

But after what they had been through not that long ago, with the Thangs and the Metro and the telephone that had turned out to be a human-made AI bent on destroying them, the fact that there _was_ one, _confirmed_ human, running around Inkopolis and doing who-knows-what, and _part of the Squidbeaks on the surface_...

Craig had made the call.

They were headed to the surface to investigate.

And that started at the Central Station.

Large shards of plastic and glass were strewn about the main platform, not far from where they stood.

The remnants of the four "Thangs" that had nearly caused the end of Craig and his newest protégé, Agent 8. Craig shivered as he and Remo walked past it to the opposite end of the platform.

"You OK, sir?" Remo asked, having noticed. His longer tentacles were tied up so as not to get in the way while he was working.

"Yes, yes, I'm fine, Agent 3." Craig's eyes turned away from the wreckage as he reached the other side first, and gingerly eased himself down onto the unused track. "Once again I'm just glad you reached us before that telephone juiced us up. We're headed down this way." He pointed down into the tunnels using his cane.

"Right..." Agent 3 took one last look at the remains of the busted blender, then leapt down onto the track, helping the Cap'n down with him. "So this was where you met up with Agent 8, right?"

Craig nodded as they both headed into the tunnel. "That's right. You must have been long gone before we came to."

"I wouldn't know. The thing that attacked us must have knocked me away quite a bit, because I don't remember heading down here at all."

The light grew even dimmer as they walked, until the Central Station was a pinprick of dim light behind them and otherwise pitch black darkness forced them to tread carefully, running their hands along the brick wall. The only sounds they could both hear were their own footsteps and the sound of skin brushing on brick, reverberating through the darkness.

Remo forced himself to try to breathe normally - from all they had seen since they had returned to the Metro, Kamabo's strange Octarians had essentially vanished. They had not appeared at any of the stations they had previously inhabited, nor were in the NILS facilities itself. But even knowing that, the oppressive darkness of the deep underground did not make him feel at ease. For all Agent 3 knew, something could be waiting to strike...

He shook his head. This was not the time to worry about the darkness. He wasn't a child anymore, for goodness sake. He needed to focus on their task.

"Captain," he began, speaking quietly. "If this route does work and we get up to the surface... What's our goal with this... this human? The other agents?"

"Hmm." His leader took his time responding. It seemed he didn't quite know what he wanted to do. "Well, Agent 3... I suppose we should assess whether this 'Lily' is a threat. That Marina girl seems to think she's okay. One and Two must think so too, if they've taken her on board. But it would be good to know for sure."

"Right, but... what about everything _we've_ been through? Her turning up can't be a coincidence..."

"I don't believe that it is. There's a reason she's here. Whether she is aware of it, though... _that's_ the question."

"Marina said she wasn't aware of Tartar at all..." Agent 3 considered the information that they had had, from the dossiers and from Marina's chatroom. "Knowing that, what we've heard of her actions lines up. She's collecting stuff she knows of, that she's probably familiar with..."

"Supposedly she's on a mission, doing those exact things," Craig mused, as the pitch black tunnel started to turn to the left and, both men keeping their hand to the wall, they followed, seeing the glimpse of light past the next turn.

"Your granddaughters must see some value in that phone and the car..."

"Or they don't want to see it falling into the wrong hands."

"With the Octarians?" Three asked pointedly.

Craig Cuttlefish couldn't answer him.

"You're not sure anymore, are you?"

"...With Octavio, most certainly we can't let those things fall to him," Craig finally said, after some thought. "Especially if there is a chance there are old human weapons."

"But...?"

The elderly inkling sighed. "...But no, I'm not too sure with the Octarians as a whole at the moment."

Three nodded. Craig's whole saga with Agent 8, and Marina had probably caused him to re-evaluate some life choices.

Though they were the only Octarians he knew personally, besides DJ Octavio himself and the strike squad that had tried to control Turf War arenas on the surface during his first mission as Agent 3... Eight and Marina acted much differently to the other Octarians, or at least the Octolings. What was different about them...?

They had both been affected by the Squid Sisters' Calamari Inkantation at some point, Remo remembered that much. But there was seemingly something else the two of them had in common that set them apart from the other Octolings underground, and even the ones here in the Metro... at least, before they'd all vanished anyway.

Three thought on this as they rounded the next corner and was greeted by an upcoming station and - thank goodness, _light_. Cold, harsh lights, but light nonetheless.

Craig approached the station platform with some interest, noting the vault that /had/ been there (and unlocked by Agent 8 when the two had first passed through) had not been replaced.

This place had been seemingly forgotten by the denizens of the Deepsea.

But, knowing what they did now, Agent 3 and Cap'n Cuttlefish could see that the station was being used as a NILS/Kamabo storage area.

Signs, boxes and CQ Card ticket barriers were pushed up against the wall. And, oddly, his eyes were drawn to two filled infusion bags, drips attached, on either side of the station.

"Oh my goodness, those are blood bags," Remo gasped out when he saw them. "This place continues to creep me the hell out."

"So they are..." Craig stepped up onto the platform, Agent 3 not far behind, and examined one of the bags closely. Indeed, squid blood. Or perhaps more likely, octopus blood. Was it? The blue liquid looked more sickly and bright.

Come to think of it... Wasn't the color about the same as the ink the Octarians in those tests used?

The same ones Marina had said weren't alive...?

Wasn't it the same ink used in the satchel that had been affixed to Agent 8 while he was down here...?

"Oh, _fuck_. Cap'n... you'd better take a look at this."

Three's voice was slightly distant, as he'd made his way into the main area of the 'station'. Craig shifted with some effort, and swam through the inkrailing to the area to join Three.

And immediately saw what he was concerned about.

At first blush, he had thought it to be some odd station terminal that had become a dumping ground for unused contraptions.

The lines of additional blood bags along the wall, that had gone unnoticed the first time through, immediately drew his attention. "Just what were they doing here...?"

He told Three about his concern about the bags and the Metro Octarians.

"...Hmm." Remo thought a moment, looking a bit sick himself at the thought. "...The question is, was this blood to be infused into the Octarians, or was it drawn _from_ them?"

Neither option sounded particularly pleasant.

They didn't hang around for too long after that.

Agent 3 and the Cap'n continued down the abandoned rail line.

After they climbed through the tape that was supposedly to stop them, another ten or so minutes of walking and talking (Agent 3 was secretly glad for the talking) brought them to another station.

This one was the most station-like of all of the stations they had visited in the Metro so far, bar the Central Station itself. Though any facilities were boarded up, or taped off, Remo could see that whatever town, or city, or whatever this station was attached to must have once been a bustling hub of the Deepsea.

As it was now, though, it was nearly useless. Even the glass doors that showed promise of leading somewhere, possibly even upward, were locked, and neither man was ready to risk bleeding out or splatting themselves trying to see what was on the other side.

As they turned away from the doors at the rear of the station, the Cap'n pointed out a hole in the ceiling. Interestingly, despite the loss of power from the NILS Statue above, something in the broken crawlspace inside was still sparking. _Perhaps this is on another circuit,_ Remo wondered.

"Myself and Agent 8 must have crashed through here," Craig noted to him as he thought. "Since we both came to right underneath this hole."

"Huh..." Remo seemed astounded. "This is quite a distance from where I had come down. How...?"

Craig shrugged. "This Deepsea Metro must be quite... erm, deep."

They examined the few stalls, nooks and crannies in the station, but as they saw nothing of interest they quickly turned their attention to the next tape barrier.

Agent 3 stared down into the dark tunnels as they slid neatly past the tape. "So... into uncharted territory, huh...?"

"Indeed!" Craig stared into the darkness with him, scritching his beard. "Isn't it always with us, though?"

"Sure, but..." Remo gulped. An uncomfortable feeling was bubbling up within him. "If this doesn't work out, then what do we have? We either... try to climb the unclimbable statue, or we're just... stuck down here for good..."

"Well, let's find out what _is_ this way before figuring out what comes next," Craig told him. "As our friend Iso Padre has said, "there's no use in worrying in what _could be_, only in what _is_."

"_Has_ he ever said that, sir?"

There was a pause from Craig. "...Let's get moving."

* * *

The tunnels from that point forward were completely unlit, unpowered. After a few more bends it had seemed that the tunnel from that point went in a straight line, which put an end to at least anticipating the next turns, and Remo felt the journey would be mindbogglingly boring.

The realization that they needed _some_ light came after only an hour's walking, and the decision was made to double back to try to raid the stall at the previous station, in hopes that a torch or _something_ might be found.

The flashlight they 'borrowed' from that stall would be used only sparingly, for a few seconds every fifteen minutes to conserve power, to check the path ahead to see if anything changed.

But nothing ever did.

Idle conversation as the two walked died out eventually, leaving Agent 3 to only hear the sounds of their own footsteps on the gravel, echoing through the darkness.

It left his mind to wander.

He wondered how Cap'n Cuttlefish was able to cope in places like this.

_Nobody will know if he were to never leave this place alive,_ said a semi-robotic voice only he could hear*.*

Agent 3 winced and clutched his head. _Please... go away... Not now..._

This was why he was not a fan of the dark, and the near-silence.

Ever since he had come to, on a platform suspended beneath Off The Hook's helicopter, about a month ago, the voice of Commander Tartar had etched itself into his head.

It was bad enough that that... _thing_ had managed to assume control of his body, but even after he had been freed from its clutches, and the AI seemingly destroyed, his mind seemed to conspire against him, as every now and then that _voice_ would speak up, one only he could hear, voicing dark mutterings, intrusive thoughts. What he would give to be rid of the memory of him...

"You alright back there, Agent 3?" the voice of Craig called back to him eventually.

"I'm fine," Three said quickly. "Coast seems clear back here."

There was a pause from the Cap'n. "Well alright... Let me know if that changes."

"Uh... yessir."

Agent 3 tried to forget about the voice for a moment, and instead considered the situation they were in.

Not that there was much to consider for the time being. After having the background ambience of the Deepsea Metro Train for so long, the only noise they heard now was that of their own footsteps, their own breath. Occasionally, they heard the sound of water droplets somewhere in the distance. Surely that was just old leaky pipes...

_Prepare to drown, speck._

Remo's view snapped down to the ground. As if he would be able to see anything... "Fuh-flashlight, please..."

He was promptly blinded as the flashlight in Craig's hands switched on, pointed at the ground then panning up to the yawning infinite darkness ahead. "I don't see anything new, Three. What's up?"

"Are... you sure there's no water on the ground?"

"None at all," the Cap'n answered simply as he flicked off the flashlight. "Completely dry."

The voice in the back of Remo's head wasn't satisfied though. "Is it... possible that's changing?"

"Anything's possible, Three. I have faith in the quality of the construction of this place. Are you sure you're OK?"

"I'm _fine_, sir. I'm not hurt."

"That's not what I mean, Three, and you know it. You've been more anxious every time we venture off the train..."

"Must we really have this conversation now?"

"Why not? I'm concerned about you." The Cap'n began to prod at the ground in front of him with his cane. Hopefully, they would find out if the terrain changed before they bumped into something. He'd admittedly forgotten what the tunnels were like between the two stations he had seen this way. "Nothing else to focus on, anyway."

Remo said nothing.

"Do you trust me, Agent 3?"

That got him to stop.

"Of c— of all the— Of _course_ I trust you, Craig!" He raised his voice, shouting into the darkness. "What's this abo—"

"Relax, Agent 3. Let's stop for a moment." Remo heard the shifting of feet on gravel, footsteps, and then nearly jumped as Cap'n Cuttlefish's hand brushed his shoulder, then rested atop it. "Talk to me, Three," he said, close to him. "What's got you so paranoid? I've never seen you like this, in all our time working together. Has something happened?"

Remo said nothing for a time. He wasn't sure if he could say it and not sound crazy.

"Three...?"

"...He's... still in my head..."

"Hmm? Who?"

"...That... computer..."

"The telephone...?"

"He..." Remo chose his words carefully, unable to look upward toward where he thought Craig's face was and shaking lightly. "When he... was controlling me... he kept saying these things in my head..." He took a moment to breathe. "Telling me to do things..."

Craig patiently said nothing, waited for him to continue.

"Every time we leave the train... In the dark... I hear him again... saying those things. Telling me to kill them, or y-you, or myself..."

Cap'n Cuttlefish considered his protégé for a moment. He had already known that Agent 3's experience under the influence of the telephone had changed him, but nobody, possibly not even Three himself seemed to know the extent of the damage done to his sanity. He wished nothing more than for Three to know that he would be okay, that there was no reason to fear the dark, that Tartar wasn't really alive and living in his head.

"Do you act on these impulses?" he finally asked softly.

"No... b-but—"

"Then you are just like the rest of us." Craig pat his agent's shoulder in comfort. "We all have those dark thoughts at times. It is not the presence of those thoughts that determines our character, or in this case it does not determine that the telephone still exists within your head. It is your actions, your own words that tell us who you are. And I know you are noble, orderly, committed... and perhaps a touch lost in your work. But those values are _you_, and you've only become more cautious since our encounter at the statue.

"But there is no need to fret, Agent 3 - there is nobody here anymore who wishes us harm. It is just us versus the path ahead. And so long as we keep moving, and trust in ourselves and each other, we'll eventually reach our goal. Alright?"

Remo stood back, taking in what his mentor said. It was quite a lot - he wasn't sure he could digest it all. He did notice something though... "I... I think you've probably been hanging around Iso a bit too much, Cap..."

"Perhaps... he's a quite impressionable chap. Do you understand though? That telephone will never define you. You _mustn't_ let it define you, Remo."

Remo nearly jumped out of his skin. Cap'n Cuttlefish _never_ used his real name.

The only other time was after they had returned to the Cap'n's outpost after DJ Octavio's defeat, over two years ago...

"...Craig... What do I do?"

Craig thought for a moment. "We were having a good chatter before now. Was that helping you?"

Agent 3 nodded, forgetting for a moment that the pitch blackness made the gesture worthless. "I think it... distracted my thoughts enough, yeah..."

"I see. Very well. Let us keep moving." Cap'n Cuttlefish finally took his hand away from Three, and the two set off again, again keeping left. "Let me tell you some stories from the War..."

* * *

The tunnel stretched on for hours as Remo and Craig traded stories from their lives, theorised on motives, and occasionally devolved into discussions on nothing, like whether squid rings were better than onion rings, or somesuch. In fact, it continued for so long that eventually the two had to stop for the 'night' and nap to recover energy.

At one point Remo noticed that the tunnel had begun to curve upwards, giving the two hope that they were headed in the right direction. It didn't get any lighter, but their spirits were renewed and they kept pressing onward, with hope that their efforts would pay off. Craig wondered where they might end up, when this was all said and done.

The tunnels levelled out again, almost ten hours of travel later. Remo was too tired to care about the fact that conversation had dried up.

It was almost a shock when the tunnel turned, and then ahead of them, in the distance... _light_. And _sound_, far away, muffled, but sounds of other life.

"Thank goodness, Agent 3," Cap'n Cuttlefish said with a relieved tone, turning to him, with a slight grin. "It's the light at the end of the tunnel."

Remo laughed, despite himself, and pushed Craig away as they pushed forward.

Finally, after a few more minutes, they found themselves entering a new station. Signs on the wall told them it was Inkopolis Bay.

The rail line that they emerged on was seemingly unused, and while lights were on on the other two platforms of the station where other trains ran, the last, where the two inklings were, was unlit. Carefully, as some of the commuters on the main platforms watched, they crossed the station carefully, watching for trains until they had joined the rest.

Remo and Cap'n Cuttlefish took a seat near the station exit, and took a few moments to rest their tired legs.

"Oooh, fresh cosplay!" A younger inkling girl called to Remo, walking up. The Agent realised with a start that he was still in uniform, and his weapon was still holstered on his belt. "You make that yourself?"

"Uhm..." He glanced at the Cap'n, but decided to play along. "Er, some of it. I had a bit of help getting some bits together."

"Cool!" The girl looked impressed. "Who are you meant to be?"

"I uh." Agent 3 took a moment to think. "I'm a... I'm the villain from that last... Cod Hand game?"

"Never heard of it." With a look of confusion, she asked, "You look like you haven't slept well at all. You staying anywhere?"

"Well, my apa—" Remo stopped himself. Come to think of it, he'd been gone for quite a while. _Was_ his apartment still there? Or had they leased it to someone else by now? What about his stuff?! "...I'm not sure."

"Oh." With that, she put her backpack down and opened it, rummaging until she found what she was looking for, and pulled out a soft hoodie, which she thrust in his direction. "Here. I know it's not much, but it's supposed to be cold tonight."

"Oh... Um, thanks." Remo glanced at the hoodie in confusion. "Are you sure?"

"Of course!" She placed the hoodie in his hands, then turned away to rejoin her friend, who was watching them. "Well, have a good night, mister!"

"Uh... Thanks, you too." Remo smiled. With a look to the Cap'n, he murmured, "Cap'n, be honest. Do I look homeless to you?"

* * *

As they travelled the train line, Remo wearing his new hoodie over the top of his uniform, he took the opportunity to check in on Marina's Chatroom to update them and let them know they were safe.

Oddly, though, they weren't there. But Marina had left messages for them, in the hope that they would return.

DJ_Hyperfresh Hi! I know you're not around at the moment Craig, Three, but I am leaving you this update, just in case you do come back to us and wonder what's happened. DJ_Hyperfresh Callie, Marie, Lily and Lorne have invited Pearl, Eight and I to talk in the Square a couple hours from now about all the stuff that happened in the Metro and the Statue. DJ_Hyperfresh So we'll be gone for a while tonight - don't freak out if you come back and we're not here, we haven't left you! DJ_Hyperfresh I hope your travel is going alright... It's strange not having you both around. Stay safe! Hope to hear from you soon!

From there, the two formulated a plan. As much as they would have loved to just go back home, this seemed like the perfect time to introduce themselves and get to the bottom of this whole 'human' business.

So, they travelled directly to the Square, in hoped that they would catch the others.

They arrived at the station at roughly midnight, and as they were headed up, they heard a call of "Craig! Three!" in their direction.

Cap'n Cuttlefish and Remo turned and were immediately beset by hugs from who else but Pearl and Marina, Eight standing, smiling just behind them.

"You made it!" Marina exclaimed, grinning. "How'd you get here, though?"

"It was a longshot," Craig briefly explained to them, "but it seems services used to run between Inkopolis and the Metro, back in the day. How about that?"

"Whaaaat?! That's wild!" Pearl grinned and fistbumped Craig, having gotten in close enough now. "So, what, you managed to get a train up here?"

Remo shook his head. "Walked."

"What?! That's hardcore!" The inkling idol was astonished.

"Then, er, why aren't you two sleeping that off?" Marina wondered.

Craig answered that one. "We just saw your message about that meeting, so I hoped we could catch the others for a talk about this human business."

"Well, uh, they should still be there..." Marina glanced up toward the station exit. "Better be quick, though. They'll probably all be headed home too, soon."

Remo nodded. "We won't keep you then. We'll catch up a bit later, alright?"

"Sounds good!" Marina smiled as the three of them started to board the next train, that had arrived as they had talked. "See you then!"

"Take care, girls," Craig said as the two saw them off, then turned back to walk up toward the Square.

The Inkopolis Square was empty and yet lit up by the billboards and streetlamps above. To Remo it looked... serene, in a sense.

Craig and Remo didn't get a chance to look for long, as the sound of feet landing on metal caused them to hide in the small bushes outside the Inkopolis News studio.

"...That went well."

"You weren't expecting it to? C'mon, Lily, they're better than that, and you _know_ that. But see? They support us. We don't have to hide it. We can just be us."

Remo and Craig exchanged glances from behind the bushes. _This must be Agents 4 and 5._

"Well, c'mon," said the second girl, Agent 4. Lorne, supposedly. "Pretty sure there're still trains running this late. Let's get home before they stop."

Without another word, the two girls walked past the two male squids and down the corridor into the station.

Unshifting, Craig said, "Tail them, Agent 3. It's best you introduce yourself to them. I'll go talk to Agents 1 and 2. We'll meet back here at their Octo Canyon outpost tomorrow."

Agent 3 nodded as he also unshifted from his squid form. "Got it." He immediately took off, walking hurriedly back toward the station.

* * *

Remo had waited quietly, in squid form again, as the girls waited for their train to arrive. Once it had, and they got on board at the rear of the train, the boy followed them in, choosing a spot not too far away from where they sat, with plenty of room to lay down. Using his mantle as a blanket, he stretched out, like he was back on the Metro. He closed his eyes, pretending to have quietly fallen asleep within a few minutes.

For a little while the ride was uneventful. Every now and then Remo barely opened his eyes to make sure they had not moved.

"Lily...?" Lorne said finally. "If…if Tartar did have a way for you to go home… back to your time… would you take it?"

_Tartar...? I thought they weren't on his side... What did they talk about out there...?_

Remo slowly opened his eyes, just a touch, to watch them.

"It's… complicated." Lily seemed to be taking her time to respond. "I… would love to see my friends again. To see my family again. To let them know I'm OK. To tell them of the wonderful world I've found here. And I… I'd kind of love to be able to show you the world that I lived in. But…if it was a one way thing, if I couldn't come back, or if I had to be an inkling forever, trapped in that old world… I just couldn't. Not anymore."

_Interesting. She seems to enjoy this world. Tartar certainly didn't. I guess Marina's right. Still so odd though..._

"I do miss them," Lily continued. "A lot. But I think I've been more successful under my own power in this world than I ever was in my own. And I have you, of course. And the others."

"Okay... I just… Is it bad of me to think that when you were talking about asking if there was 'a way back', that you still wanted to leave?"

"…No, I don't think you're wrong to think that…"

Remo continued to listen quietly, closing his eyes again. He was satisfied he was watching the right people.

"I'm committed. To this team. To you." Lily gave a deep sigh. "I just… want to know if that option was always there."

* * *

Lily and Lorne (and Remo) disembarked at the Inkopolis West station and quietly shuffled toward an apartment complex, Remo stealthily following behind the others.

As they climbed the floors, Remo wondered if they must live together. He wondered how long that had been going on, and how long they had known each other.

Remo finally saw them enter one of the apartments, and Remo, knowing the answers were so close he could almost grasp them, strode toward the door quickly.

He caught the door as one of the girls was closing it, and gently pushed it open a tad to see who it was.

He was face to face with Lily, and she didn't look thrilled.

"Excuse me, 1AM is not the time for visitors. If you really need to talk to us, there's…" Lily went quiet for a moment, realising that they had just seem him on the train. She scowled. "_Excuse me,_ what are you doing following us? If you try anything, we're the wrooong people to fuck wi—"

"I'm not going to try anything," Remo quickly said, raising his palms. "But I need to talk to you. …And I also need a place to stay for the night. I don't know this part of town."

"No chance. Goodnight." The ex-human waved him off, but he didn't move, _wouldn't_ move.

He decided to take a chance. "Agent 5."

Lily blinked, and for a brief moment her face showed fear. Then it settled back into its previous expression. "Excuse me, _what_?"

"Agent 5. Real name Lily." Having thrown her off, he took his chance and pushed the door open, seeing the other Agent in the bed at the opposite end of the apartment. "And your friend, Agent 4, real name Lorne. I need to talk to you both."

He expected a reaction, but he didn't expect the way that Lorne had gotten up, walked to him and yanked him inside. "Okay, who the _fuck_ are you," she said with a scowl, face close to his, "and why are you at our door in the middle of the night?"

Remo easily forced her hands away from him, and stood back, as he untied his mantle from around his neck and slipped off the hoodie. "I'm sorry to pull this on you so late. We only just got back a few hours ago, and only just found where you all were, but I had orders to find you…"

As the hoodie came free, he pulled his Hero Headset from its pocket, and watched as Lily's and Lorne's mouths fell open.

"My name's Remo. I'm Agent 3. Captain Cuttlefish has asked me to come find you."


	26. Time Capsule

Agent Eight of the New Squidbeak Splatoon had no name.

That wasn't to say he wasn't known by anything - his testing number-come-agent codename had become his 'nickname'.

But after events in the Deepsea Metro, parts of his memory were lost down amongst the many stations, his true name among them.

What he did know - memories he'd recovered from the Metro and things he had discovered about himself since he had arrived in Inkopolis - intrigued him.

In his past he was a combat technician for one of the many squads for the Octarian army. He knew his way around weapons - he had a natural talent for learning his way around a weapon quickly, and for those he wasn't so great with, he could figure them out enough to surpass the challenge ahead - but his specialty was in the use of gadgets.

If his team needed communications blocked in an area, he was there. Wanted to make sure a target wasn't coming back any time soon? He would have a Disruptor or two on hand. Need to stop a remote-controlled boat from abandoning a teammate? He could deploy and operate a signal jammer like no one else.

DJ Octavio's military regimen had ensured that he was quite athletic and his body was reasonably toned, a fact he still sometimes appreciated about his old life. It had been a boon during his adventures in the Metro.

But while he hadn't required his athleticism yet in his new work as an Agent - though it came in handy in Turf War battle - he kept his body in shape, knowing it would one day come in handy.

As Eight unlocked and entered into his small apartment, carrying a backpack with two devices securely packed inside, he was somewhat excited.

He had just returned from the Tentaport Institute of Humanities, where its resident technology team had finally finished researching a unique type of storage Eight had delivered to them.

It had taken many months, but they had figured out how to recover, read, and convert data from a human-era disk drive into modern-day file formats.

The drive that Eight had brought in seemed to be full of multimedia - archived music, images and photography, documents, and even some video.

They had, of course, backed up as much as was readable from the drive for research purposes, but had also made a copy of the data for Eight to peruse on a modern device.

Which is what Eight had now.

Putting the backpack down beside the door, he removed both the original drive and the portable storage disk Tentaport's head had given him, a readable copy of the data they had recovered.

He crossed the living area to his 'memory wall', dedicated to shelves and displays of things he wanted to remember. It was something he started, initially to keep his collection of mem cakes safe but quickly expanding to include objects that reminded him of pleasant or important moments here on the surface. For example, a power egg replica, the tee he had been given when he had finally made it to Inkopolis, and - despite himself - a large piece from a shattered motherboard.

He set the drive down amongst these items, adjusting it til it looked 'just right' amongst the display, then left briefly to retrieve his laptop from the bedroom.

Bringing the devices back to the living space, he booted up the laptop, holding the storage disk in hand as he set the computer on his lap.

Fellow agent Lily had said at some point that these items from the human era seemed most likely to be things close to her. And while she had been mostly open to him about details about her world, she never went much into detail about her own life.

Surely she knows what the drive contains, then?

His computer had finished booting and sat at a cephalOS desktop, which he'd personalised with a new wallpaper and icons. Quietly, wondering what he would find, he inserted the disk into its slot and patiently waited.

A new icon appeared on the desktop, signifying the drive had loaded. Opening it, Agent 8 was greeted by a mass of folders and files. Among them he could see folders for music, pictures and photos, 'ebooks' - whatever those were - and video of different kinds.

After some thought, he clicked into the pictures folder, brushing his tentacle back and to the side to clear his vision. He was greeted with a folder of all sorts of picture media - from what he could see, it was home to artwork of various kinds, screenshots from computer programs or videos, and a few photos.

His attention was immediately drawn to the photos. The first one that drew his eye was of a cephaloid creature - but not with tentacles. Instead this seemingly candid photo depicted a person with these odd... strands of something on their head instead. It spread down the sides of the face in lesser quantities and rejoined under the chin, forming a... what, a long... beard? They had no eye mask to speak of, just eyebrows above each eye.

Eight realised with a start that the face structure matched the human skeletons he had seen around the Tentaport campus.

This... this was a human.

_Well, it wasn't the ugliest thing in the world_, he supposed.

Other photos depicted bedrooms, places - one place in particular depicted an old country town, seemingly old even for the time of the photo, judging by the condition of some of the buildings.

As he explored the photo folders, he kept seeing more humans - but moreso, the same humans, including the one he had first seen. He also saw other creatures he had never seen before - though plenty of them seemed to be about as fluffy as the Judds, if not as round.

_Oh, goodness_, he realised as he scrolled further and further back through the folder. _Lily kept years and years of this stuff._

As he scrolled through, he started to notice videos interspersed throughout as well. Excitedly he clicked on one, finding himself watching footage of some amusement park ride. It looked like something he might see at Wahoo World - a pendulum ride swung back and forth, gaining momentum before it started looping around. Behind the camera, a male's voice talked with a younger human girl who was occasionally on-camera while the people on the ride screamed and some sort of music played in the background.

Eight was fascinated by all these snippets of human life - a life _no one_ had previously known. Seeing all these different human sights and traditions... And, strangely, some of their traditions mirrored those he had witnessed here in Inkopolis - they celebrated Squidmas/Octivus, the turn of the new year, birthdays. And yet - other traditions he was seeing as beyond him, for example in one video, where the same person who had been filming most of the videos he had seen in this collection was following the younger human girl as she tried to find egg-shaped prizes around a house. Prizes that were apparently a food of some kind - whatever 'chocolate' was.

It clicked as the two in the video approached another, older duo looking for eggs, and one of them casually greeted, "hello Simon".

_That was Lily's previous name_, Eight remembered.

He didn't think much of this for a moment, only noting the coincidence.

Then he remembered - this drive had belonged to Lily. All of these things they had collected from the human era were things nearby Lily when she was taken from that world.

These were photos and videos _Lily_ had taken.

He gasped to himself, following that thought - the person holding the camera, that the Octoling had seen in so many pictures - _that must be Lily, in her past life..._

And these people, that he had also seen plenty of... they must have been her family.

Eight sat back, in awe as he watched.

So he wasn't just watching human life... he was watching _Lily's_ life.

He paused the video. As fascinated as he was, he realised he was intruding on a dear friend's private moments.

He contemplated for a few moments whether he should continue. Most of this _was_ private, after all.

Eight was also curious about what else he could find out about humans.

Come to think of it, didn't the girls say they had talked with past humans at that dreaded NILS Statue?

_Wouldn't it be fascinating to speak to one himself,_ he thought.

There didn't appear to be much stopping him. He just needed to take the first step.

So, he shut the laptop, swung it under his arm, and climbed to his feet as he searched for its carry bag.

_She should know_, he decided as he quickly headed back out the door.

* * *

When Lily answered the door at 2pm that day, she was unimpressed with Eight. "Dude, where've you been? The party's been going for nearly two hours."

"The... party?" Eight stared at her for a few moments, searching his memory. "Oh— Dear, sorry Lily, I..."

"Oh well, just come on in," she said, opening the door for him.

It was Lorne's triumphant return to ranked battle, and she'd been training hard with her new team for the past few months in preparation for the new season. And here she was - her first matches, broadcasted on everyone's favorite 24/7 Battle Broadcast Network as part of its ranked coverage, today seemingly focusing on many newcomer teams and placement matches.

Callie, Marie and Lily had made a day of cheering on her team from her apartment, snacks and food strewn about the kitchen countertop and around the couch they had gathered around to watch. Remo had joined them earlier and was preparing drinks in the kitchenette.

"_Aaand this match is now underway, the West Inkopolis Warriors versus the Angelsea Angelfish! It's a bright and sunny day here atop the New Albacore Hotel as both teams leap off the mark, firing about to fill their special meters on the way to this stage's sole Splat Zone..._"

"Wooo! You got this, Lorne!"

"Come oooon, Warriors!"

"You go, Four!"

Callie and Marie shared a bag of crisps among them as Lorne's Warriors closed in on the Angelfish, who were holding the Zone. Both turned as Eight entered the apartment. "Heya, Eight!" Callie waved. "Good to see you!"

"Hey there," Marie nodded with a light salute, before turning back to the game.

"Hey, girls. Remo." He nodded at the other boy as he entered. "Lily, I know I just got here, but can I speak to you in private for a moment? Oh," he added as Lily shot him a strange look, "and bring your laptop. I need to show you something."

The two settled for sitting on the bed, and as Eight handed Lily a flash drive to plug in, he explained. "I've just come back from Tentaport. They decrypted the hard drive."

Lily blinked. She had forgotten about that thing. "Whoa, okay. You're forgiven. So what's this about then?"

Eight simply slid the laptop over to himself and opened a gallery application on it, directing it to a particular folder. He handed the laptop back to Lily as it played the Easter video he had found before.

Lily was silent as she watched herself roam around her old yard with her family. Her hands slowly rose to her mouth, and Eight could see she was tearing up, but her eyes stayed focused on the screen.

After that video, the application cycled through various other short videos, which ended on two that made the inkling begin to cry.

The first was a clip she'd recorded from the end of the Justice concert she had gone to – the _only_ concert she'd gone to.

And the second, which made her squeak, was a short clip she had recorded right after. She, or Simon, had gotten on a train after the show and was tired, exhausted.

Remo glanced up in her direction. Seeing the human face on the screen, his brow furrowed, and he walked over to join them.

Lily looked up and saw him, tears welling up, and got up from the bed, walking toward the door.

"Uh-?" Marie glanced up from the TV, and saw her leaving, and then saw the human's face on the laptop screen. She made to get up, but Lily held out a hand.

"Think what you will," Lily said simply, aware she was making a scene. "I'll be back in a few. I need some air." She glanced at the TV. "Keep me updated on the scores."

Then she stepped out.

Marie glanced toward her cousin with a nervous look, then turned to Remo and Eight. "What just happened…?"

Eight was distraught. "I.. don't know! I brought over the data from the Grizzco hard drive to show her and…"

"Lily saw me coming to have a look and I... think that set her off, somehow." Remo was confused and felt hurt.

"Is that… Lily? _Was_, sorry..." Callie was staring over Marie's shoulder at the image on the screen. She hadn't seen a living human before...

"Okay, okay, hold on a moment." Marie eyed Eight. "Eight, you know this place better than the rest of us. Where's she headed?"

Eight's gaze travelled upwards. "She'll be going to the rooftop. It's safe," he quickly added as Callie, drawing her own conclusion, gasped and covered her mouth. "It's fenced up and used as a social space. Knowing her, she'll be staring down at the street."

"_OHHH! What a magnificent play by the Warriors, their opponents are all down and losing valuable time!_"

Marie grabbed the remote and muted the TV for the time being. _Sorry, Lorne._ "Right. Can you go check on her, Three? I need a moment with Eight."

"Uh, yeah, alright." Remo headed for the doorway. "We'll be back."

The girls saw him off, then Marie sat back down at the couch, turned toward Eight. "Take a seat, Eight."

"Um, do you mind if I…?" Callie gestured at the laptop, the human face still plastered on it.

"Go for it." Eight stood from the bed, walking the few steps over to the couch. "You're not mad, are you…?"

Marie sighed, watching her cousin step around the couch and kneel before the screen, leaning onto the bed and unpausing the video player. "No, I'm just confused. So that came from the drive you, Three, Four and Five collected, yes?"

"That's correct." Eight sat on the seat of the couch. "I just picked it up from Tentaport today."

"I see. Why are videos of Lily on there?"

"It's her—" Eight started to answer, and then stopped, his mouth falling open. "Wait – you _know_ that's Lily?"

Marie nodded, smiling. "I saw her briefly, before she became one of us."

"Huh. …uh – it's her hard drive. I thought she'd want to see…" After a moment, he muttered, "and I had some questions…"

"Right." Marie nodded. "I mean, we all still have plenty of questions about humans. But…" She thought for a moment, and briefly glanced at Callie watching the laptop, enraptured. "So maybe… she just forgot we were all here and had a moment?"

Eight shrugged. "She seemed really into it, so maybe…"

"Not your fault then. Are you doing alright, by the way?"

"I suppose… I'm not sure I can ask her now though."

"Maybe I can ask on your behalf." The Squid Sister raised an eyebrow.

"Oh, that might be nice… Well, I wanted to ask her if…" Eight took a breath. "If there was some way I could learn more about them from her."

"Hmm. Oh! Why don't you get her to take you to the NILS Statue?"

"Wait, NILS?!" Eight's eyes went wide. "I thought she had nothing to do with them!"

"No, no – she doesn't," Marie quickly reassured him. "I mean, well – that statue is most likely still broadcasting a signal from the past. She took her phone and a laptop there when a few of us went for her protection and ended up talking to _real_ humans."

"Really?!" That seemed to cheer Eight up. "I would love to speak to one…"

"Organise it, then." Marie smiled. "She'll probably appreciate a reason to catch up with some of her past friends, anyway."

"Uuuhm... okay..." Eight nodded, but he seemed nervous still.

Marie seemed convinced in him though, and so she'd unmuted the TV. She and Eight watched the battles on the TV while Callie was distracted browsing the laptop.

Lily and Remo returned a few minutes after, the female seemingly recovered from her moment but now embarrassed. She apologised to everyone and kept to herself for a while as they watched the battles.

Having the gang all together to cheer on Agent 4 as the racked up the wins (and close losses) really warmed Lily's heart. She hoped that Lorne was as energised by her streak as they were, supporting her.

At some point, the coverage on TV shifted from the lower bracket Lorne had started on to a top tier. The crew, having eaten all the snacks, hung about for a bit longer, chatting with each other. By that point Lily had gotten over herself and was talking quietly with Callie about future social activities.

As the group filtered out, saying their goodbyes, Eight finally worked up the courage to walk back up to Lily as she was seeing Remo off. Callie had already left, though Marie was hanging about in the kitchenette.

"U-uhm, Lily?" Eight shyly said as she took a sip from the drink she'd left on the kitchenette.

"Hey Eight. You alright?"

"Uhh, well..." Eight shifted about as Lily's eyes turned on him. "S-so... that drive... First of all, I'm sorry about what happened before."

Lily sighed, her cheeks flushing with embarrassment. "I think that's more my fault, but... thank you for showing me those things." She smiled. "It was nice to see that old world again."

"That's... that's okay." Eight smiled. "Listen, I um... Stop me if you want... But.. I wanted to learn more about your world."

"Ah, well..." Lily scratched at her head. "Well I don't know how much I still remember, is the thing... It's been so long, now."

"Oh..." Eight bit his lip, and twiddled his fingers together. "The thing is... Marie said to me a while back that you'd been out to that... Statue. After we went to see the telephone."

"Ah... okay." Lily nodded. Marie must have told him about what happened out there. "So what do you want to do, then...?"

"Well..." The Octoling took a deep breath. "I... would like to go out to the Statue and talk to some humans about the old era. P-preferably ones that won't try to kill me..."

"They're still not alive in this time, Eight," Lily sighed. "Look, to do that you'll probably need my iPhone and my laptop. The thing is—"

"Your phone? Why?"

"Because it's a cell signal that Statue is giving out, not a home wireless network. My laptop can't connect to it on its own. But Eight—"

"Cool! When can we leave?"

"Eight." Lily frowned. "I can't... I don't have the time to take you out there. I'm setting up some new work at the club down the street. I don't know when I'll be available."

Eight's expression dropped. "Oh... can't... can't I go there on my own?"

"W-well, I don't think—"

"I can teach you how to drive our boat, Eight." Marie smiled, having been listening in from the other end of the kitchenette. "I can't spare the time to take you out there for a couple hours either, but I can at least set you up to get the answers you need."

"That works." Eight smiled at the both of them. "Thank you, Lily. Marie. I sincerely appreciate it."

"No sweat, man." Lily smiled at him. "If that works for you, that works with my schedule. I suppose when Marie's got you all set up then, let me know and I'll lend the stuff."

"Sure. I'll be in touch. Again, thank you..." Eight surprised her with a tight hug.

"Whoa, uh... no worries, man." Lily blushed and reciprocated.

With a smile and a nod, Eight headed for the door. "Take care, Lily. Give Four my regards."

* * *

The wind whipped past Eight's lone tentacle as his craft raced over the waves of the Inkopolis Bay.

The speedboat he had been loaned from the Squid Sisters had been stored in a private dock down the other end of Port Mackerel ever since a music video shoot three years ago, he'd been told. The only time it had been used since then was when they had taken Lily to the Statue.

Now it was his turn.

He felt nervous as the destroyed Statue grew closer. The last time he was here, the fate of the world hung in the balance. Even now, looking at the damned thing brought up awful memories of Commander Tartar (may he rot, forgotten in that forest).

He slowed the vehicle as he grew closer, and briefly turned his attention to the bag he had brought along. Opening it up, he removed Lily's laptop and phone, and set it on the dashboard of the speedboat. They were already powered on.

Now he just needed to wait for a signal.

The boat came to a halt alongside the sunken statue, on the side nearest an antenna that hung overhead. If Eight was going to get anything, he figured, it would be there.

The Octoling opened the laptop, entering the password Lily had given him. He did the same with the phone, and then followed the instructions she had given on how to activate the phone's network hotspot.

As she had told him, if there was a signal, the phone would broadcast it, and the laptop would automatically connect to it.

Eight sat and waited anxiously.

A soft noise sounded from the laptop.

Leaning across to it, he saw that it was starting to get notifications.

It _seemed_ to be working.

He smiled.

_What was it Lily said to do first...? Oh, yes, look at their version of the internet._ Eight looked around the screen of Lily's laptop for the icon she'd told him would be for the internet. Finding the old-fashioned compass on the screen, he opened the application, which greeted him with what he recognised quickly as a search engine.

_What to ask...?_

He stared at the search bar for a minute or two, wondering what to ask first.

Carefully, considering his thoughts, he typed his first question.

'Do humans like other creatures?'

The search engine helpfully suggested 'why do humans like other animals', and he decided to accept its suggestion, submitting his query.

The first pages that showed up were an... interesting mixture of different opinions. 'Why Dogs and Humans Love Each Other', 'Why People Care More About Dogs Than Humans', 'Humans are nowhere near special'.

Eight didn't click on any of them, just read the little blurbs the search engine gave him for each. It seemed that they _were_ capable as a species of liking non-humans. _Which explains Lily_, he thought to himself.

_I guess Commander Tartar was evil even for humans._

A noise from the laptop surprised him.

It came from a chat application. Somebody from it had sent some announcement to one of the many groups Lily seemed to be involved in. He brought up the application, and clicked on the top icon from the list. It seemed to bring him to a personal group chat, seemingly a chat with Lily and her friends.

His grasp of English told him that there were a few people online at the moment.

He _really_ wanted to say hello to them.

After a moment of thought, his fingers went to the keyboard and he started typing.

**Lily** Hello? Is anybody around?  
**Lily** I think this was the chatroom Lily told me to use...  
**Craven** Hi there!  
**Lily** Hello. It is a pleasure to meet you. I hope my English is good.  
**Craven** Thanks! Yeah, you're good. How are you doing?  
**Lily** I am well. I am very excited to meet humans! I am a friend of Lily.  
**Lily** Oh. I should update my name and things. I am not actually Lily. How do I do that?  
**Craven** Oh right! Uh... hi, Lily's friend. Just right click on your name, and it should have "Change Nickname". Click on that and type in whatever.

Eight examined the interface he was presented with. Its sense of design was (duh) unlike anything he was used to. He found the option 'Craven' was talking about through searching for it.

Eight typed in his name, clicked the big 'Save' button, then returned to the chatroom.

**Eight** Okay, I have changed my name. They call me Eight. It is a pleasure to meet you, again.  
**Eight** How are you today?  
**Craven** That's a neat name. I'm doing alright! Just chilling out, mostly. You up to much?  
**Eight** I have been learning to drive a boat. I got to see many pictures and videos of your time. Actually they're Lily's pictures. I am very interested in human culture!  
**Eight** I had to drive the boat because of where this network signal is. I don't know if Lily has told you. It is a statue in the middle of the bay. It's a bit of a scary journey. We don't do well with water.  
**Craven** Oh. Wait, are you an alien? Because that would be awesome!  
**Eight** An alien? I am an octoling. I live in Inkopolis, where Lily has been!  
**Eight** She is well, by the way. She could not make it today. She is trying hard to get a job DJing near where she lives.  
**Craven** ...hold on, I need a minute.  
**Eight** Okay. I will give you a minute.

Eight patiently waited a minute.

Or he would have, because the next message came in about 30 seconds later.

**Craven** Okay, so... this isn't just Lily tricking me or anything, I don't think. Uh... sorry, this is a lot to take in.  
**Craven** ...Wait, what exactly is an octoling?

_...Oh. Did Lily never tell these people?_

Eight scrolled the chat window upward, hurriedly looking to see whether he'd just given up a secret. _Oh carp oh carp oh carp..._

Thankfully, some of the conversation between members of the chatroom seemed to reveal that they did know about Lily and Inkopolis.

Eight breathed a sigh of relief, and returned to the present.

**Eight** Octolings are Octarians that can transform between octopi and creatures with arms and legs!  
**Eight** Lily says it's a 'humanoid' form. I guess I see why she thinks that.  
**Eight** It's like how she can become a squid. We are like inklings I suppose, but instead of squids we are octopuses.  
**Craven** Wait, what?  
**Craven** Sorry, I don't know anything about octolings or inklings or Inkopolis. Yeah, she didn't tell me she could become a squid.  
**Craven** Like, I don't have any reason to believe she'd lie about this sort of thing, so... I think I believe you.  
**Eight** I will try to explain as best as I can...  
**Eight** Because of things that happened here, she became an inkling. Inklings can turn into squids, though Lily doesn't like to turn into one very often.  
**Eight** As I mentioned, I am an octoling. We evolved differently, but we gained a similar function in order to become an octopus. We both swim in ink.  
**Craven** Does it hurt to turn into a squid, or an octopus?  
**Eight** Inkopolis is the city where inklings live. Mostly inklings sorry. I moved there recently after... that's not important. It's a very big city.  
**Eight** No. I would have to ask Lily if it hurts her. I remember her telling me it feels 'weird'.  
**Eight** May I ask you a question?  
**Craven** Sure thing.  
**Eight** What is it like to have bones?  
**Eight** Every time I see human skeletons at the museum I touch one and it feels very tough. Wouldn't that hurt?  
**Craven** ...

_Did I ask a bad question?_

**Craven** I... don't know how to answer that really. I've had bones all my life, so I can't really compare it to not having bones.  
**Craven** It's kind of weird seeing skeletons and knowing that one of them is inside of me, but... I guess it's like asking me what it's like to have muscles.  
**Craven** Does Lily have bones now, or did they... I guess, leave her body when she became an inkling?  
**Eight** She does not. She tells me she was asleep or unconscious when she changed so she doesn't know what happened. I talked to her and Marie and Four about her change, but they never mentioned anything like that.  
**Eight** Maybe they... er, melted? Nobody really knows.  
**Craven** Alright...  
**Craven** You said you're not good with water, but you can become and octopus and she can be a squid. Why aren't you good with water?  
**Eight** What do you mean?  
**Eight** I mean, I know Lily told me humans could be in water, but I don't understand why you're confused about us.  
**Craven** I thought octopi and squid lived in the water.  
**Eight** Did they...?

_That's news to me..._

**Craven** Yep, they do. Wait, are you from the future?

_...Uhhh... Carp?_

**Eight** ... Yes, I believe so. Sort of.  
**Craven** ... well, I guess that's why I haven't heard of Inkopolis before.  
**Eight** Yeah... sorry.  
**Eight** Anyway. Since you asked.  
**Eight** We can't touch the water. I think my grandfather told me once that we used to be able to, but when we evolved arms and legs we apparently lost the ability. Now we sorta... disintegrate and respawn elsewhere.  
**Craven** Oh, that stinks! How do you get clean?  
**Eight** Well we do better in oily substances like our ink. So we can still shower and bathe, just with clear oils.  
**Craven** Ah, that makes sense. Anything else you want to know?

_Huh? Oh, wait, yes!_ Eight grinned to himself. _There was a reason I came here!_

He had begun to feel slightly annoyed that he had to explain his world and not learn much out of it. But _this_ was the opportunity he was waiting for.

**Eight** Oh, yeah! I wanted to ask about the things you guys celebrate!  
**Eight** One of the things I saw from Lily's photos was her and her family looking for these... chocolate eggs I think. It reminded me of this 'Springfest' thing that apparently happens once a year here  
**Eight** And I was thinking about the things I celebrate, Octivus (apparently called Squidmas up here), that sort of thing.  
**Eight** Do humans have anything like that?  
**Craven** Yeah, we celebrate a ton of things! Birthdays, anniversaries, graduation, sporting events, and religious stuff!  
**Craven** The chocolate egg thing is from a religious holiday called Easter, which is real weird to explain without getting into actual religion and symbolism and stuff that's probably not appropriate for this channel. **Craven** Oh, and we celebrate the new year, too

_Yeah, on the wrong date,_ Eight thought to himself.

**Eight** New year? Yeah, we celebrate that too!  
**Eight** Oh so 'Easter' is religious? I wonder if our Springfest is religious...  
**Eight** Although I guess the Splatfests are semi-religious enough...  
**Eight** That's really cool though. I'm amazed we do a lot of the same things  
**Eight** Marina would be really happy to hear that  
**Craven** Cool! I mean, if you're from the future-ish, I guess it would make sense, although  
**Craven** What is Splatfest?  
**Eight** Oh, that's our monthly celebration event. See the big sport here is Turf War. Teams of four battle to claim the most territory over a few minutes.  
**Eight** Splatfest is that, but over a whole weekend with every team that cares to sign up for one side or another  
**Craven** Oh man, that sounds awesome!  
**Eight** Hmm, what was the most recent one again...? Pancakes versus waffles for breakfast.  
**Eight** It's really fun.  
**Craven** That's a lot different from how our sporting events go, it's usually just "Team from place X vs Team from place Y"  
**Craven** Who decides what the Splatfests are about? I'm guessing there's some sort of governing body.  
**Eight** Kind of...? I was talking to Pearl and Marina about it some time ago, and apparently the Splatfest topics come from a printer... Nobody knows who or what's on the other end, but I guess the inklings made a shrine out of the space it now occupies...  
**Eight** Inklings are weird...  
**Eight** It's their shrine for Splatfests. So they just call it the 'Splatfest Shrine'. Something like that...  
**Craven** That is pretty weird, yeah, but sports are real weird, I guess.  
**Craven** Next: Who are Pearl and Marina?  
**Eight** Oh, they're friends of mine and Lily's. They're a musical duo. And the current hosts of the main news program.  
**Eight** They're really clever and cool... I owe them a lot.  
**Craven** Ooh, awesome! They seem pretty cool. Hopefully they can help Lily with her DJ stuff.  
**Craven** She's real good with mashups, maybe they can do a collab together sometime.  
**Eight** I'm sure they probably will at some point.  
**Eight** I remember not long after I met Lily for the first time, she surprised them with a mashup of one of their songs.  
**Eight** And I think they've talked about doing some form of collaboration... but I think that depends on how Lily goes with her DJing, and if she gets a following at all.  
**Craven** Ah, cool. I have confidence that she'll get there.  
**Eight** I'm sure she'll be thrilled to hear that. I'll pass that message on to her.  
**Craven** Yay :-)

Agent 8 took his eyes away from the screen for a moment and was surprised to find that the sky was a vivid orange and red as the sun was just about to set over the bay. Had he really spent so long out here just talking?

He was amazed at himself. He didn't know he could lose time so easily just talking to someone on a screen. He looked back at it, and smirked to himself, shaking his head.

_Maybe humans were alright._

He didn't want to be out on the water when the sun was gone, though. So he sadly decided that it was time for him to say goodbye to the human on the computer.

**Eight** I think it might be time for me to go... The sun is starting to get low and I would like to be back ashore before it's gone.  
**Craven** No problem, it was nice talking to you!  
**Eight** Thank you so much for talking to me! I'm glad there are more humans than just Lily that are nice and not evil.  
**Eight** Oh, one more thing - Lily asked me to make sure that you didn't tell anyone outside of here about our time and our world. We have already stopped one human creation trying to destroy us... she would rather us not have to deal with more. Is that okay?  
**Craven** Absolutely.  
**Eight** Thank you :-) You are very kind.  
**Eight** I hope to speak to you again soon one day!  
**Craven** I appreciate it, and I hope to talk with you, too.

* * *

Lorne answered the knock on her door the following morning to see Eight standing there with a smile, holding Lily's laptop and phone. "Heya, Eight. Returning things?"

"Yep!" Eight nodded, and held out the electronics to her. "I thought I'd drop them off on my way in to the Square today."

"She'll be glad to see them when she gets out of the shower." Agent 4 smiled back as she took them. "You seem pretty pleased. You find out what you wanted to know?"

"Most of it, yes. I had a great chat with one of Lily's friends. Quite enlightening." The octo's smile widened and he brushed his tentacle out of his eyes.

"I'm glad. You'll have to tell me what you found out next time." Lorne grinned. "Lily and I have been going through that archive you gave her the other week. Did you know they kept pets just like us? And some of them had fur JUST like Judd and Lil' Judd!"

"They did a lot of things just like us," Eight nodded with a smile. "It's surprising just how similar to them we might just be..."

"You really think so, huh? I mean, seeing the photos, I wouldn't be too surprised." Lorne smiled.

"Yeah..." Eight nodded again, and seemed to be stuck on what to say next. "I... I think I should get moving. I won't keep you."

"No worries, Eight. Thanks for stopping by." Lorne grinned, and stepped out to hug him. "I'll let Lily know you said hello."

"Thanks. Oh-! Also," Eight started suddenly, remembering. "Can you let her know that her friend Craven says they believe that collab with her and Off the Hook will happen?" He smiled warmly. "I think Lily will like that her friends are still thinking of her."

"Aw, that's adorable. Of course." Lorne nodded. "Thanks, Eight."

"Thank you, Lorne. I'll be seeing you!" He grinned and waved as he turned and walked down the apartment hallway towards the stairs.

"See you soon, Eight!" Lorne called, waving back until he left her sight, after which she closed the door.

Lorne set Lily's laptop and phone on the kitchenette counter, looking down at them.

_So he got to talk with humans, huh...? Lucky guy._

But she pushed it from her mind quickly, and returned to thinking up battle plans for her next match, unmuting the TV on which the Battle Broadcast Network was showing ranked matches.

Humans were exciting, but...

Humans could wait.


	27. The Octopus Garden

DJ Octavio Takowasa, The Octobot King, leader of the Octarians, scourge of the Squidbeaks, and various other titles he'd given himself, was bored.

This wasn't entirely unusual, considering just how long he'd been incarcerated.

For nearly eleven months, he'd been kept in this damned glass prison, locked away from his kingdom, from any sort of society. The only people he'd seen on a regular basis were those blasted New Squidbeak Splatoon agents. Even Craig Cuttlefish had visited every once in a while, trying to reminisce with him about 'the old days' before the war. The fool.

For months the Squidbeak agents One and Two - the Squid Sisters - would check in to make sure he hadn't escaped, wasn't planning something. He had tried, many times, to get them to open up about their feelings, about their day, as Callie had once - the one time that had allowed him to overpower her and free himself. But it seemed they had figured out his game, and refused to interact with him on those terms.

But even they, eventually, got bored with him as they realised he wasn't going anywhere, and stopped showing.

There was one of them, however, that continued to visit him, and made living in this prison marginally more bearable.

Lily the ex-human had started visiting at least once a fortnight once that business about 'Commander Tartar', whoever he actually was, had faded away.

He had expected her to be odd. What he hadn't expected, and was surprised to discover, was that while the other inklings didn't dare to talk to him at length, she was okay with talking to him, answering his questions about her old life, and even more surprisingly, treating him as an equal.

Rather than talk down to him for his attacks on Inkopolis, she instead took interest in his 'DJ' title, talking to him about his musical career, and her own interest in performing. Rather than harass him for being the king of a people, the figurehead of a harsh government, she would ask him about Octarian society, educate herself about his subjects.

In return, she shared music from the human world for him, and together they talked about what that world was like. Lily would share food with him - more filling than the rations Callie, Marie or Craig would often leave him. And, incredibly, she seemed to consider him a friend, the more they talked.

It was odd - perhaps it was because she was not of their world, hadn't lived the Great Turf War and its aftermath, but she treated him as more of a person than the other Squidbeaks would.

DJ Octavio appreciated that.

Even if she _was_ still an inkling, on the side of the inklings.

Occasionally he wondered to himself if there was a way to turn her to his side. Or if there was a way to change her form once more, make her an octoling under his command.

For the former, it wasn't for lack of trying.

Octavio would tempt Lily with offers of power, fame, fortune. Would try to talk her over to his side, convince her to help him to escape. And although he had, a few times, succeeded in making Lily feel sympathetic for him, usually it only resulted in the same smirk and shake of the head from Lily. "Sorry Octavio. You know I can't do that," she would say, and she'd either change the subject or leave.

She knew where she stood. Even though he _hated_ that she denied him, it impressed him all the same that she respected her orders. If he could just get a pair of shades on her...

He remembered one evening three months back, when Lily had come to visit with 'exciting news'. It had come after a month of silence from her, or anyone.

DJ Octavio remembered the narrowed eyes he had given the inkling girl who had come up to him. "Hmmph. I thought that you would perhaps visit more often, human."

"Well at least you recognise me." Sitting cross-legged on the ground before him, once again stunned by his bulging green-purple eyes, Lily watched him carefully. "I can't stay long this time, but I figured you might have some input on something."

Without missing a beat, Octavio quipped back at her, "You could get in here with me, and I'll give you _plenty_ of 'input'." His face shifted into a huge smirk and he shifted one of his tentacles to press teasingly against the glass of his snowglobe.

"Wh- Oh! Oh jeez!" Lily flinched as she realised what Octavio was implying. "I've _no_ real desire to know about _or_ add to your escapades, DJ."

"Gyahahah! Why not?! You'd consider it though, right~?"

Lily sighed, but her only response to the question was a moment of silence and awkward shifting about. That told him everything he wanted to know, and his eyes brightened in delight.

It was no secret among the educated inkling populace that Octarians reproduced asexually by cutting their tentacles. That didn't stop the more intelligent ones from mating for fun. Hell, the DJ himself had indulged on occasion.

And though he knew inklings took relationships of such a nature much more seriously, knowing that the ex-human seemingly wasn't opposed to fooling around gave him something to think about.

And it gave him leverage for a future attempt to get himself free.

"..._Anyway_," Lily finally said, changing the subject, clearing her throat. cheeks flushed. "I... jeez. I thought you'd want to know that the club I played the other night got back to me, they want me to do a biweekly set. I think your DJing tips over the past couple weeks did the trick, Octavio. Can I call you Tavi?"

"You may not," Octavio smirked. "I'm still royalty, you know." He prodded the glass between them. "And I'm not a pioneer in the DJ space for nothing. You get any of the gear I recommended?"

Lily shook her head, still a bit flustered. "I got a mixer, that's about it. I've been lookin', but my knowledge around a computer setup has been fairly sufficient so far."

"You'll regret that eventually," the Octobot King countered, eyebrow raised. "Regardless of anything, you'll want to learn that equipment. You still pre-making your shows?"

"Yeah... mostly. It's just the way that I figure out mashups, is all."

"Kiddo..." Octavio didn't look very impressed, but still seemed to be thinking on it. "Those mashups are kind of your thing, are they? I think that's all I ever heard from you."

Lily nodded. "I consider that the whole 'thing' about my sets, yeah."

"Okay, so... hm.. Interesting. Perhaps then, pre-make your mashups, then mix them live? Gives you something to do besides tweaking knobs and settings."

"I suppose..."

"And hey, here's something I want you to try - set yourself a goal to make them live. With enough practice your crowd won't notice the difference. Heck, _I'd_ be interested in seeing that."

"Wow... Thank you, Octavio." She found herself smiling at him.

"No sweat." The DJ smirked back. "What else has been happening?"

"Really?" Lily seemed genuinely shocked. "You _never_ care about my day-to-day life."

"I care!" He responded loudly. "Sometimes."

"Pssh."

"Besides, you're more fun to hear about than the others." He cocked his head to one side. "It's interesting to hear your unique world view."

"Heh." Lily chuckled softly and smiled. "Alright, well... Oh, y'know what? I wanted to create a style for myself after I got the big news. So, this is what I ended up buying for myself for my — er, 'DJ Neu Wave'!" She grinned, and slowly turned herself around.

Octavio examined her carefully, curious. She'd donned a black leather rider's jacket, with an image in reflective pins in the back. She'd also started wearing a different glove over her right hand to match. He still didn't know why sheshe wore it...

She still seemed to be wearing striped spats, but it worked on her. Perhaps more than she wanted, he thought as he eyed the inkling's butt for just a moment longer, his gaze snapping back up to her face as she turned back to face him. "Not bad, kiddo. I think your long hair is working against you now, though."

"Is it...?" Lily bit her lip and cupped the ends of her tentacles in her hands. "I mean, they've been awkward to deal with at times... I just thought that was something I had to adjust to and live with."

"I don't know what your fellow inklings do with their tentacle care, Lily, but take a page from us. Why not just cut your hair?"

"Won't that hurt?" Lily's brow furrowed with worry and concern.

"Will it?" The octopus shrugged his tentacles. "Doesn't hurt that much for us Octarians."

"You're... basically cutting off your limbs though."

"And? They grow back."

"They do _not_." The inkling sighed in disbelief. "Stop bullshitting me, Octavio."

"You seriously telling me you've never cut your hair before?"

"This isn't hair, Tavi. They fill the same purpose, but it's _not_."

Octavio raised a few of his scarred tentacles, presenting them to her. "Look. Sure these are partly damaged due to the war, but I promise you I have severed my tentacles a few times in the name of continuing my species. And I bet you you've seen at least a few inklings with new hairdos."

Lily stared at the appendages in silence for a few moments. "...Okay, that seems a bit obvious now, I guess. Boy do I feel stupid."

DJ Octavio chuckled, raising an eyebrow. "Seriously. If you don't like your hair length, try trimming it down for a while and see how you feel."

"I might..." Lily spoke softly, nodding her head.

The two were silent for a moment, watching each other, relaxed. The cool night air blew through the Hideout.

"Man... I guess I should get back into town," Lily sighed, disappointed. "I promise I'll keep in touch more, Octavio. After all you kinda made this happen."

"You'd better, kiddo. And hey —" DJ Octavio shouted as Lily started to turn away, toward the grate back home. "Think you'd ever play a show on our turf?"

Lily tilted her head and considered it. "I don't see why not," she answered after a few seconds. "If you behave, of course."

With a smirky grin and a wave, Lily turned, shifted form and dropped into the grate, swimming back to Inkopolis.

DJ Octavio eyed the grate for about a minute or so.

Waiting to make sure the human had gone.

His mind began to turn, plotting out scenarios involving Lily and him.

And a pair of shades.

* * *

Late one cold, dark evening, the King was awoken by a sound.

The sounds of multiple bottle rockets in the distance. No - of course not bottle rockets, the sound of someone, _multiple_ someones, super-jumping.

Eyes popping open, Octavio listened quietly. Was someone out there? Foe or friend?

For a minute or so he heard nothing else over the gentle breeze.

Then he became aware of voices travelling from past the stone archway that led to the rest of the Hideout.

Octarian voices.

"...suggests their base might be up here. Stay sharp, team."

Hmm, the voice was familiar. One of his squad leaders...?

"A forward base in our territory?" Another voice in Octarian. "How fiendish!"

"What's the plan? Splat them all?"

"Heh, if anyone's around." The leader didn't seem to take the question seriously. Octavio noted their voices were getting closer. "Would be nice to get a leg up on those Squidbeaks, eh?"

"It would, if _y'all didn't yak at each other on the way to your target!_" DJ Octavio finally bellowed into the darkness. "I can hear you from a mile away! Get over here already!"

The voices went quiet. Then the sound of pounding footsteps as a squad of four Octolings in combat gear ran up through the archway and spotted him, hesitating for a moment in disbelief before rushing over to him.

"DJ!" The leader called out as she reached the snowglobe. "Thank goodness you're alright! Are you hurt?"

"...Yeah, pretty hurt," Octavio said softly at first. Then, shocking the soldiers, he angrily yelled, "Hurt that I've been waiting a _year!_ Where in earth have you all been?!"

"P-please, my king, we apologise!" Again, the leader did the talking, but the other squad members looked distraught. "We've been scouring every inch of Inkopolis and beyond that we could! We didn't think—"

"And you didn't think to check your own backyard?!"

"Yes! No! We— er..."

The Octoling holding a Blaster lowered her weapon. "Everyone knows the Tentakeel Hideout never reports in anyway. We had no idea it had been overtaken until recently, sir."

"...Right..." The DJ still seemed unimpressed, but he let it go for the time being.

These Octolings were his crack offensive team - Forward Squad Ceph. They had operated together for many years, and Octavio trusted only them to competently take on the New Squidbeak Splatoon's Agents as they fought to control territories in Inkopolis.

Lux, the team leader, and the team's Octo Shot main, was one of a few distinguished graduates of Cephalon HQ's Combat Training Academy.

Kae, a Blaster main, was also the team's inksplosives expert.

Mori was a Charger user and the team scout. She knew how to best scout the territory they wished to control, and use it to their advantage.

And Renki, while not as experienced, was their Roller main and a promising bright mind when she wanted to. She was recruited for the team after their previous fourth's desertion - following DJ Octavio's defeat at the hands of Agent 3, three years ago.

Since these guys were around, Octavio knew he would almost certainly be freed, but perhaps there was more in it for him that this squad could help him with... His mind began to formulate a scheme. "Lux, we need to talk."

"I'm here. Should I send the others away?"

"For now. Mori, Kae, Renki ('_that is still Renki, right?'_ He muttered to Lux - '_You didn't lose another one?'_), scout the area, there's bound to be something of interest here. And OY—" he suddenly yelled as three of the girls started to turn away. "Don't ransack the place. I have a plan, and I don't want to tip _their_ hand just yet." Octavio waved them off with a lazy, tired tentacle.

Lux, the leader, made sure the three had left their immediate vicinity, then turned back to the King. "Right. What's going on? Do you need freeing?" She examined the DJ's prison. "This... device... doesn't look too hard to crack."

"Of course I need freeing, you dummy," he sighed, quieting his voice, "But I can't leave yet."

"Sir...?" Lux raised an eyebrow at him.

"I'll explain. But look." He gestured with his appendages toward a particularly egregious gap that had been worn between the wooden base and the glass. He pulled away a small rock that he had placed to mask the size of the gap to emphasize. "This thing is damaged, but I've also noticed the seal is somewhat weak. There must be some way to loosen this enough that it'll just come free."

Lux knelt down to examine the opening, and the groove in which the glass seemed set into the platform base. There _was_ a metal plate that looked like it was holding the dome in place, but the more she examined it, the more she realised it was simply ornamental. _Stupid inklings..._

She stood up. "Yes, I think we can do something with this. So what's going on then? Why aren't you coming with?"

DJ Octavio smirked at her. "Lux, I have an idea. I believe you remember the strange human creature I sent your team to collect some time ago, yes?"

"One of our more embarrassing defeats, yes..."

"Well, _She's still here._ What's more - heh, I still can't believe this - is while I've been imprisoned, she thinks that I'm her _friend_."

"Friend...?"

"Oh, don't get me wrong, that human's an interesting one. DJ too. From the bits I've heard, might fit in with me and the duo from Turquoise October. But, yes - she comes around every Friday and just sits and talks with me."

"She talks to you, sir?" Lux raised an eyebrow and brushed her wild tentacles away from her face. "What about?"

"Music things, mostly. Of course. Sometimes we talk about her world, sometimes ours. Certainly more interested in our society than the rest of those Squidbeak brats. She's been... quite nice, sorta."

"Ooooh." Lux smirked. "That's the nicest thing I've heard you say about anyone in a long time. Has the King got a crush~?" She teasingly asked.

"Lux?"

"Yes, sir?" Her smirk had broken out into a grin.

"Shut up before I put you out of commission. Absolutely not."

"Yessir." She continued to grin. "So the plan, then?"

"Yes." DJ Octavio focused on her. "I think with enough force the four of you can probably pop this glass cover out. So, here's what I think. We do that, and then set it up so it _looks_ like it's still secure - they're inklings, they won't look too closely."

"Got it." Lux nodded. "What about the human, though?"

"I'm _getting_ to that." Octavio rolled his eyes. "You guys come back on Friday night and hide. She'll come by to chat, and then sometime while she's here, I'll give a signal and we net her and I can _finally_ return home."

"Are... you sure that will work?"

"Positive. She arrives at the same time every Friday night. Like clockwork, right after her set." Octavio chuckled with a smirk. "That clockwork nature is going to be her downfall. Now come on, get the others over. Let's get this thing loose."

* * *

Lux, Kae, Renki and Mori gathered in a circle around the DJ's snowglobe. The team's weapons lay neatly by Cuttlefish Cabin, something that Octavio shot the squad a strange look for.

"OK, team," Lux said, taking charge. "We're going to try to slide the glass out of its groove. On my mark we'll slide it clockwise and up, then counter-clockwise and up."

"Moving it back and forth like that should loosen it up enough to get it free," continued the DJ. "Once I _am_ freed, we'll move onto the next phase. Everyone got it?"

Lux nodded silently.

"Got it," Mori nodded, getting her hands in position.

Kae also nodded, saying nothing.

Renki saluted. "Aye aye, Deej."

"Renki..." Octavio raised an eyebrow at her, pointing a tentacle at her. He seemed both confused and concerned by the nickname.

"Uh... yes, sir?"

"_No_."

Kae burst out laughing at his simple comment, and the DJ himself allowed himself a smirk. Renki quietly gave an embarrassed, "Sorry, sire..."

Lux moved along, ignoring the comment. She took hold of the glass now as well. "Everyone, in position."

Kae and Renki pressed their hands into the glass, ready to move it. Octavio, despite himself, held his breath.

_Was this really going to work?_

"Get ready!" Lux called.

The rest of her squad tensed, ready to move.

"Move!" Immediately Lux pushed hard to the right, attempting to push the glass upward at the same time. "One! Two! Three! Four!" With each call, she and the other swapped direction, pushing to the right, and to the left, to the right, to the left...

At first it didn't seem to be working, as the glass resisted them. But as they continued to move back and forth, eventually it seemed as if the groove into which the glass dome was set was starting to give.

"Yes! Keep going!" The DJ shouted, moving about excitedly inside the cage as it moved around him. It was only a matter of time! Fresh air and home seemed so close...!

With the sound of grinding glass, and a loud 'pop', the dome suddenly came free.

Octavio immediately halted the team. "OK," he said softly after a few moments of silence. "Step aside."

Ceph Squad immediately stepped away from the loose glass.

Slowly, Octavio rested two tentacles against the wall of the dome. Gripping the glass as best he could, he took a few moments to decide exactly what he wanted to do. "Lux, Kae, Mori," he called. "Get ready to catch this thing."

Obediently they got into position, on the other side of the glass, the DJ counted down and then both pushed forward while pulling downward on the glass.

Due to its shape, the dome tipped forward easily, and with the Octolings there to catch it without it shattering further, DJ Octavio was free to simply slide/float out the new opening.

He was _free_.

Setting the dome down, the girls rushed over to him. "DJ!" Lux called. "How ya feeling, boss?"

DJ Octavio breathed in the cool, fresh air, and looked upwards toward the sky. He let his tentacles fully stretch out – his limbs both complaining, having been cramped in such a small space for such a long time, and welcoming it, the octopus feeling a pointed warmth and relief in them. "_Aaaaahhh…_ Freedom never felt so good before."

He turned to the team with a genuine smile, and extended his tentacles toward them, pulling the girls toward him in a tight hug. "I very, very sincerely appreciate that you've done this, girls," he told them, quite a departure from the demeanor they knew from him.

To himself he thought, _even if you found me quite by accident._

"Well, uh… thanks, boss." Renki smiled, and with the others, embraced the king. "It's good to have you with us again."

After Octavio had let go of them, he sent Kae to fetch Gomez, his royal messenger, from the HQ and took a couple minutes to just slither on his tentacles around the Hideout, looking around at the world around him while Ceph Squad hung back at the cabin to give him some space.

_He was free._

_What did that mean?_

_Well_, he supposed, _it meant he could finally return to his palace and go back to ruling and commanding his subjects, including the soldiers currently accompanying him._

_It also meant that he could start planning his revenge against Inkopolis._

_Against those blasted Squidbeak Splatoon agents._

_And finally,_ finally, _he'd be able to capture the human, research their technology, and their past civilization. After all the Octarians were surely more equipped to make use of those discoveries than the idiots up here._

_Yes. Yeeees. Soon…_

Satisfied, relaxed, his limbs given enough opportunity to stretch and relax, he made his way out to where the kettles to the various Octarian caves lay. He looked out toward the bright city of Inkopolis in the distance, and scowled.

_Look at them. Flaunting all that energy. What an irresponsible waste._

"Y'alright, my king?" Lux said softly, approaching him from behind. She was alone. "Something on your mind?"

Octavio sighed, and glanced back toward the city. "Of course, Lux. I just... don't know how to phrase the anger I feel about being in captivity for so long. How have my citizens fared?"

"Ah... well." The octoling shuffled uncomfortably in place. "Well, as you can probably guess, most of our military have felt lost without you, sir. They - we - have done what we can to help our fellow Octarians, but, well, the command structure has fallen apart a bit. For the time being we've been doing what we can to help each other out in these tough times. That said..."

Lux bit her lip. She never liked having to deliver bad news to the boss. "There are... two issues that most need your attention. First off, some of your infantry and civilians have been deserting and going AWOL again. The biggest loss was just after your disappearance, sir, but over the course of the year there's been a drip-feed of escapee after escapee."

The DJ grumbled at this news, but he wasn't too surprised. "I'm vaguely aware of this. I was made aware that the damn Squidbeak Splatoon has an Octarian in their ranks some time ago..."

Lux turned and stared at him. "...What? Are you seriously telling me that an Octarian is _willingly_ working with the enemy?"

"Yes, Lux, I am. It's as disgusting as it sounds. And before you ask, I am going to be the first one to rip him to pieces." Octavio seemed quite upset as he recalled the bits of information he had gleaned about the traitor. "Those blasted Squid Sisters and their music... Okay, what's the other problem?"

"...Well, sir..." Lux's voice became subdued. "There... have been several terrorism instances around Octopia by, well... other Octarians. Random incidents, but the same message from each perpetrator - they... wish to see you step down as king. Though we've not been able to prove it yet, we suspect there is an organised group behind the scenes of these attacks."

DJ Octavio was silent. He seemed to tremble, just slightly.

"Sir...?"

"They realise what a king _is_, right?" He said, turning to face her again. Lux could feel the heat of his anger bubbling up within him. "I was chosen, _by royal blood_, to lead our society to greater things! These treasonous dogs! How dare they!"

"I know, sir."

"It's not a damned democracy!" Octavio grumbled. "Ugh... they can wait just a little bit longer..."

The DJ started to head back the way they had come, and Lux followed him. "We'll deal with it, right?"

"We have a lot of work ahead of us, but yes, Lux, we'll squeeze it in somewhere." Octavio passed through the arches as he headed back toward the open snowglobe.

In the entry area where the rest of Ceph Squad was waiting, a Tentakook turned from chatting with them to see Lux and Octavio return to them. He rushed over. "Sire!" He called, his mailbag swinging by the side of his short body. "Miss Kae has briefed me on your situation. I'm so glad to see you are alright!"

Gomez, the Palais Takowasa royal messenger, was one of a large family of Tentakooks. While he looked fairly standard in appearance, his clothing was what set him apart as an important member of his society, specifically the blue cap atop his head and matching bag in which he carried many letters, but mostly those of the royal family and official communications.

"Greetings, Gomez." Octavio nodded to him amicably. "I have some orders for you to send back home. One second..."

He slithered over to the snowglobe platform. "Alright folks," he called to the others, gesturing toward the glass dome. "Help me get this thing back on."

"WHAT?!" Mori gasped at him. "Why are you getting back in there, boss?!"

"Huh?" Octavio frowned at her, and then shook his head. "Right, right. Lux, explain."

As the squad prepared to tip the dome back into place, making sure it _didn't_ slip back into its groove, Lux filled them in. Octavio would wait there until Lily, the ex-human was due for her next visit.

He, and they, would be waiting.

The four octolings lifted and slowly tipped over the heavy dome glass, and DJ Octavio ducked as it rose over his head, aiding the descent by guiding it down with his tentacles so that the glass hung slightly over the edge of the platform, allowing him to grab the rim when the time came.

DJ Octavio took a few deep breaths, nodding. "Well there we go. Remember, Friday night. Before 9. Be there."

"Got it, boss." Mori nodded and saluted.

"Will that be all?" Renki asked, glancing about.

"Yeah, I think we're done for now. Dismissed." Octavio began to wave them away, and as they turned around, he shouted out, "Actually no, hang on! Gomez! Those orders for you to relay back to HQ."

"Yes boss, what shall I tell them?" Gomez swivelled back to him, holding his notepad at the ready.

"Relay this message." Octavio paused for a moment as he figured out what he wanted. "Okay. Inform the Elders that I will return this Friday. And inform my Octocommanders that they need to increase military presence in every cave accessible from Octo Canyon ASAP, and have every forward squad at the ready for Zapfish acquisition as soon as I return. Once the Squidbeaks find out what we're doing, they'll be back with a vengeance, for sure. Oh, and inform Arthra that I'll have a subject for him soon to calibrate the shades on. Got it?"

"Got it." The Tentakook finished quickly scribbling that information down. "Alright! I'll run those messages over now!" With a quick bow, Gomez took off at a sprint, rushing down past the archway, and shortly they heard him duck down into one of the kettles with a 'clank', making his way back to Cephalon HQ.

Octavio nodded and relaxed. "Well, I think that's it. We've got a lot of work ahead of us, folks. Dismissed. I'll see you Friday. Don't fail this time," he added to them with a glare.

"We won't, sir," Lux quickly replied.

"Nuh uh," added Renki.

"You can count on us," Kae smiled.

Mori simply nodded.

"Good. Now get." Octavio waved them off. "Before someone comes and sees you all."

Lux nodded and the lot of them took off down past the archway.

The octopus settled down in the dome, resting his back against it.

_I've waited a year to be free_, he thought to himself.

_I can wait a few days longer._


	28. The Final Fest ('Down Under' Arc Part 1)

"Look, I'm not saying nothing should ever change… I just want to protect the balance I've found in my life."

As the crowd of people watched in Inkopolis Square, and many more tuned in over the radio or on TV, Pearl and Marina were getting themselves worked up over the topic of the Splatfest they were in the middle of announcing.

Two+ years of being on the air, of the continued success of Off the Hook, of being the representatives for this Splatfest season, was culminating in this coming month.

And boy, this one was a doozy. 'What kind of world do you wanna live in', indeed.

Marina took a deep breath, and uncovered her face. The discussion had brought up a few sensitive memories, and she had needed a few moments to collect her thoughts. "Don't… don't you think it's important to create a place where we can all feel safe and secure?" she asked her cohost, with a hint of concern.

"Not if it means living in a world where everything is predictable," was Pearl's immediate response. Pearl had a _point_, but it seemed more than any other Splatfest that the hosts were talking past each other. Not that most of the kids playing Turf War minded - they _loved_ the drama that came with Splatfests.

"I mean, look," Pearl continued, adjusting herself in her seat. "I'm not saying I wanna watch the world _burn_. I just want it to _change_. Daily," she threw in as a hasty addition. "I wanna go skydiving one day, walk away from explosions the next, and chill at home in my jammies the next."

"Pearl, you can already do those things. Today."

"Heck no I can't!" Pearl spat. "It's always 'work' this, 'meeting' that! 'Social taboos'!" She had no idea where she actually wanted to go with this, knowing she was still beholden to the people that kept them on the air. "I just wanna do something new, every single day. Make something new, eat something new! Anything less is _boring_!"

Marina's eyes went wide, and she seemed to have been hurt by her words. "Sure but… 'make something new'? That could lead to Off the Hook breaking up!"

"Oh my cod! Are you _squidding me_ right now?!" Pearl pinched the bridge of her nose, sighing deeply, taking a deep breath. Pulling out her phone to make sure she was thinking of the right article, she stated, "I'm so done with this. I hereby… (yep, okay) …invoke Article 4 of Splatfest Law."

Marina's mouth dropped. Her hands snapped up to cover it.

"That means," Pearl continued with a smirk, "the losing side has to accept the world the winning side wants."

"…you wouldn't," Marina breathed.

"Juuuust did."

It took a few seconds for Marina to parse what Pearl had just pulled.

She'd noticed Pearl checking her phone, and realised her cohost had been thinking about this for a while, since they had both known about the upcoming Splatfest topic for a just under three days, prior to announcing it today.

Where Marina had had her own thoughts about how to interpret 'order', it seemed to her that Pearl's idea of chaos was to literally change _everything_.

And that frightened her.

"…But…" Marina finally stuttered. "If… if your side wins, what's going to happen to Inkopolis?"

Pearl, incredibly, _shrugged_ at her, making a vague "i'unno" noise. "I'll figure it out during the Splatfest."

_She hadn't even thought about it yet?!_

"And this last Splatfest is gonna be three whole days, so you'd better think about it too, 'Rina."

Marina let out a sharp exhale, turning away from Pearl, the camera and the teleprompters for a few moments. "Hoooo….boy…"

This had gotten _real_.

The octoling thought back to when she had first met Pearl, up on Mount Nantai all those years ago. Exiled by her former band, she had gone up to scream and vent her frustrations at the world. Marina, newly-escaped, could hear her powerful voice from miles away.

And throughout their working relationship, she had seen plenty of instances of Pearl wanting to 'burn it all to the ground' when things seemed particularly unfair.

And now the Splatfest shrine wanted to give _her_ the reins to the city.

She loved Pearl, but she was certain that not a lot of people would enjoy Pearl's idea of 'chaos'… This couldn't stand.

_…Well, I suppose that if_ I _won, I could tweak things here and there in my favour…_

_But man… why put this in_ our _laps, Splatfest shrine…?!_

Marina took deep breaths, thinking hard.

"…OK." She slowly turned back. "I… guess then that I'm gonna have to start designing _my_ perfect world."

"You get on that," Pearl nodded, still smirking. "We've got four weeks to prepare. And not just our plans for Inkopolis," she added, the smirk becoming a teasing grin. "Like some special gear?"

"…Oh! Right, um, yes!" Marina had managed to forget for just a moment that there was _other_ stuff going on for this fest finale. "We are collaborating with two different labels to bring everyone some exclusive gear just for this Splatfest!"

"And Marina's handing me the reins for her final Shifty Station," Pearl grinned. "Everything aside, we're gonna bring y'all the best Shifty we can. Worthy of the finale."

"Oh! AND," Marina squealed, starting to get excited again. "we'll be bringing you all a very special Splatfest show, all three nights! We're gonna send off this season with a _bang_!"

"That's the spirit!" Pearl smiled. "We'll bring you more details closer to the big event, so all of you, go vote for your side, and next month, fi… _play_ like the world depends on it!"

* * *

"…I can't believe you just did that."

"Wouldn't have had to if you had stopped taking it all so seriously."

"Pearl, you _had it on your phone_!"

Pearl and Marina, after the show, were bickering in the studio. Passersby glanced in through the windows with varying amounts of concern and excitement as Marina paced about the studio floor, having relapsed into anxiety while Pearl watched with some amusement from her chair.

"Well yeah, had to make sure I was thinking of the right law," the inkling said casually as her partner anxiously passed by her for the nth time. "Again, you're taking this way too seriously."

"You're not taking it seriously _enough_!" Marina gasped at her. "Splatfest isn't the time to enforce your anarchic anti-capitalist fantasies upon everyone!"

"It's not any of that! Besides, they'd tear me apart in an anti-capitalist society anyway cuz I'm still rich." Pearl shrugged. "Ya need to chill, 'Rina. We'll figure out what we want."

"But _think_ about it!" Marina stopped and turned to face her, distressed. "The world might fall apart! _We_ might fall apart!"

"…Why, though?" Pearl raised an eyebrow.

"Well what about Off the Hook?!"

"What _about_ Off the Hook?" She tilted her head quizically.

Marina stared at her for a few moments. "Ugh! Nevermind…" She strode from the room. "I need a drink."

"Don't go too far!" Pearl called after her. "We've got that thing to go to, remember?"

Pearl wasn't sure if she'd heard. She sighed and flopped back in her chair. It was hard to calm Marina when she was like this. Sometimes it felt like she would get an idea out of thin air and run with it - like the many times she had had to try to convince Marina that, yes, Inkopolis still loved her, and no, everyone had not suddenly learned what Octolings were.

And Pearl appreciated that Marina was on Team Order because she didn't want to lose what she'd earned. But that was Pearl's point - if she didn't leave that bubble, even a little bit, she'd miss out on tons of unique experiences! She'd miss out on opportunities to reimagine herself, redefine who she was!

She freely admitted to herself that she had a bone to pick about her own past, though.

Sometimes she regretted her upbringing. It was only because she wanted to connect more with the people of Inkopolis than with the rich socialites and CEOs of Inkopolis that she had had her rebellious punk phase.

That phase had led to her exile from her former band, and the discovery of what she had heard called 'the voice to end all voices'.

That said she was amazed that her parents still did a lot to support her, even if sometimes it was simply financial support.

And they had supported her when she started Off the Hook with Marina, moreso than she had expected. Maybe they were just glad to see her become less of a punk and - well, more of a 'princess'.

They'd done this gig for a good while, and it had been wonderful, performing around Inkopolis in all the different clubs and stadiums and arenas. To Pearl, she just… felt it was time for a fresh change of pace.

And if she could help creativity bloom in Inkopolis at the same time, all the better.

_Oof… Maybe I wouldn't wanna do anything too rash though. Don't wanna hurt my family after everything they've done for me._

"…Huhhhh…"

That was gonna take some thinking.

* * *

The Inkopolis Botanical Gardens, for which the Inkopolis Gardens suburb is named, is a large park in a less dense part of the city in which all sorts of marine life can walk amongst nature.

Paths through the gardens gently wound around its many plants and flowers, and there were plenty of benches for walkers to rest, if they didn't want to sit on the grass, under one of the many trees that grew throughout the area.

The canopies cast much of the park in soft shadows, and as two particular inklings travelled down the paths, one of them thought to themselves how nice it was not to have the sun shining directly on them for a while.

Lily Sunden and Lorne Wye would have been together for a year in just two weeks' time, and this walk through the Gardens was partially to relax and chat about what they wanted to do for their anniversary.

Plus, there was a spot in the park that Lorne thought Lily would enjoy, and so - even if to Lily the reasoning felt suss - the former was leading them as they talked.

"I was kinda thinking, why don't we go to a later movie showing and have a fancy dinner before? There's that restaurant in Central the girls recommended."

Lily glanced over at her partner, thinking. "A night screening sounds like a fun idea, I've only been to one of those before. What kinda food do they serve at that place again?"

"Nuh uh, Lily." Lorne shook her head disapprovingly. "We're not doing this. I'm _sure_ you can actually _eat_ the stuff they'll serve there."

"But what if I don't end up liking it? I'll look like an ass if I just send it back or just pick at it!"

"You literally won't, Lily. Besides, you've got _my_ tastes, and I don't have a problem with a lot of what's on their menu."

"…Mmm." Lily bit her lip. She tried to come up with a rebuttal, but she couldn't think of one, so she simply nodded.

She supposed she couldn't fight that.

Though Lily had recently cut her hair down to a more manageable length, and the two girls had different tastes in clothing, she started her new life as almost a clone of Lorne physically - transformed via submersion in her ink. She gradually made her own look over the course of the past year, but the most drastic change so far had been with the birth of 'DJ Neu Wave', a persona of hers. With it she'd changed her public look quite drastically.

On the inside she was still the same person she'd always been - shy, quiet, slightly obsessive. Few saw the moments when she lashed out - when she lost control of her emotions.

And only a select few knew that Lily wasn't born an inkling at all.

She had spent most of her life as a human, hailing from a time where humans flourished on Earth.

But she had started to distance herself from that life and embrace marine society, especially in the past six months. Now, she barely considered herself ex-human at all.

But elements of her old life still seeped through, such as her love of nature, which had led to today's walk.

"Hey," Lorne said, waving her hand in front of Lily's face. "Y'alright in there, hun?"

"Huh? Oh, sorry." The other inkling shook the thoughts from her head. "Just sorta thinking back on everything. This park is lovely, I can't believe we've never been down this way before."

"I've been a few times," Lorne replied, smiling. "I mean, not since you arrived, but I know where the best spots are."

"Oh?"

"Follow me," she said, and took off down the left split of a fork in the path, headed toward a hedged area. Lily matched her pace.

"Okaaay," Lily acquiesced and stepped up to a jog. "I'm like, certain you have some ulterior motive now though. We've _never_ been to this park before!"

"Chill, Lil'!" Lorne smiled back at her. "I just want to show you the thing. It's a real nice park, really!"

Lorne led Lily down the path for another minute, through a hedged sculpture and what seemed like a series of mazes happening around the park. She finally stopped when the path led up a slight rise in the terrain and a single locked gate blocked off one such hedgeway. This seemed to be a private space and a sign on the gate itself stated that penalties would be enforced for any trespassers. Anyone with the right key could get in, but they didn't have it, of course.

"Juuust gotta get in here…" Lorne examined the gate door closely - it was corrugated metal, with not much in the way of footholds to climb. The square poles that the door connected to, though… Lorne felt that perhaps she could use those to get up and over. That said… "OK, I have an idea. Lily, get up here, give me a lift."

"Lorne, what are you doing?" Lily asked with a raised eyebrow as she walked up to the gate.

"It's fine. C'mon." Lily reluctantly lowered herself onto her knees, and felt Lorne's weight as the inkling climbed up onto her shoulders. As she stood back up, Lorne also began to stand, and Lily glanced up as her partner was able to easily climb up and over the gate, leaving Lily on the other side.

Moments later, the gate opened on the other side, and Lorne was there. "Told you. Come on, Lil', it's just ahead."

Past the gate, more hedges lined a short winding path into the main area of the garden, where–

"SURPRIIIISE!"

Lily squeaked, almost jumping out of her skin at the sudden noise as she and Lorne were suddenly greeted by a group of their friends.

Not just any old friends, though.

These people were the New Squidbeak Splatoon, of which they were a part.

They were all here, gathered and seated on the grass around a picnic rug.

Cap'n Craig Cuttlefish, the Splatoon's leader, smiled warmly up at the girls, next to a portable stereo and a few bags and boxes.

Callie and Marie Calamari - Agents 1 and 2, as well as the Squid Sisters - waved up at them, having been in the middle of talking with…

…Remo Redd - Agent 3 - who stood and nodded at them with a smile…

…and Agent Eight - er, Agent 8 - who approached them with a grin, embracing Lily and Lorne. "Happy anniversary, Lily," he said softly.

"Eh?" Lily blushed and glanced at Lorne as Eight hugged them. "A bit early, but uh, wow, hey guys, thank you…"

Marie shook her head with a chuckle. "It's been a year now since you arrived in Inkopolis, Lily."

"That's right!" Craig called, raising a bottle of what seemed like apple cider. "And why not have an overdue get-together to celebrate one of our Agents?"

"What? You guys kept track of that?" Lily blushed deeply, and turned to Lorne. "You knew, didn't you?"

"'Course." Lorne giggled, and hugged her as well. "We wouldn't forget such an important event, are you kidding?" With a smirk, she nudged her along into the group.

"But what about the key? Are we supposed to be here…?"

Lorne, in response, grinned and produced the key from her pocket. "Yeah, Callie booked the place for a few hours. And I had to play the part, y'know."

"Hah. Well… you got me. T-thanks everyone…" Lily smiled, her face lighting up, as she took a seat with her friends around the picnic rug, next to Craig. The two shared a gentle fist-bump.

"How've ya been, kiddo?" Craig asked her as Lorne took her seat and began to talk with the others. He was wearing the green outfit he used to wear back in his time in the Deepsea Metro. "What's it been, a few months since I last got to hang out with you?"

"Something like that. Time flies, dunnit?" Lily replied back with a smile. "I haven't been too bad. Having a lot of fun with the shows I've been doing lately. Oh, would you please, Cap?" She took one of the paper cups that Marie was offering to the group.

"Of course." Craig opened the bottle of cider, smiling as he filled Lily's drink with the frothy liquid, then poured some into his own cup. "Would you, Callie, dear?" He held the open bottle toward his granddaughter.

"Sure, Gramps!" Callie took it and began to fill hers and the others' cups. "When're we gonna give her the stuff?!"

"Chill, cous'." Marie glanced over at Lily with a smirk. "Yeah, we got together to pick something out for you. I think Eight and Remo got you something too."

Remo nodded, glancing over at Eight and smiling warmly.

"We'll get to it," Craig smiled at them, nodding. "We're just waiting on someone."

"Ah, alright… Man, you guys didn't need to get me anything." Lily blushed and covered her mouth.

"Shhhh, course we did," Marie smirked. "We're basically family!"

"You three _are_ family!" Lily grinned.

"Yeah, and we look after the four of you, so. Far as I'm concerned, we're all family. So nyeh." Marie poked her tongue out toward Lily, and before Lily could come up with a response, the conversation had already moved on.

As the group began to talk with each other and settle in, catching up with each other with everything that they had been doing over the past few months, Lily relaxed and drank with the others.

After talking more with Craig about what they had both been up to, trading stories, he began to talk with Lorne and Marie and Lily walked over to join Eight and Remo, who had gotten together about two months ago.

The two were an interesting combination, and she had thought when they had first hooked up that Eight would be too much for the inkling boy. After all, Remo had traded most of the time he _would_ have spent exploring relationships and his sexuality to become Agent 3 and defend Inkopolis (and the Metro) with Craig - and as a result was shy and slightly timid in a relationship setting, which Lily found amusing in comparison to Eight, who as she discovered came from a more sexually casual society. Eight, however, had taken it in stride, and was gentle and caring with his partner, at least around Lily - not forcing Remo into even something as little as holding hands if he sensed the inkling felt uncomfortable.

Eight also happily chatted about his time in an all-octoling Tower Control team, and how they were practicing and climbing the ranks. Like Lorne and her Splat Zone squad - the West Inkopolis Warriors - he had gotten into ranked battle and was happily sticking with it. It seemed the skills he and his teammates had honed underground, and his own time in the Deepsea Metro - a nightmare he regardless wished he could undo - made them a challenge for anyone who opposed them.

Callie and Marie's new album as the Squid Sisters was going well, as they told it, if slow-going. It was a choice they had made after the events of last year - a recommitment to each other, and a decision to diversify, even if a little, from their iconic S-Pop style. As part of the production they had chosen to include two choice songs from their solo albums, and record a new song incorporating them both - Marie had told Lily that they had performed it quite accidentally last year in Octo Valley, and had decided to persue the idea further.

They weren't sure when the album would be done, though their producers were trying to push things along - but felt that they were close to a stopping point and hoped that the agents would give it a listen.

And as for Craig… though he dabbled in rap in his spare time, and had hung out with Off the Hook on occasion and chatted (and rapped) with them when they weren't touring, nothing really stopped his vigilance for the New Squidbeak Splatoon. A lot of that time was now spent in Inkopolis, keeping an ear out for gossip or rumors.

But for the time being, there seemed nothing to report. It had been the case for a few short months.

And that in itself was cause for celebration.

"Heyoooo~!"

A few heads turned as two more girls approached the group from the gate - Pearl and Marina, as it turned out. Both of them were still in their iconic clothing from doing the news.

"Hi, everyone!" Marina gave a little wave as they both sat down with the group. "Morning, Lily! Happy anniversary! You doing well?"

"Good, thank you! Yourself?" Lily gestured for the cider bottle, and poured two more cups for the girls.

"Uhh - yeah I'm fine!" Marina nervously chuckled. "Just, y'know, Splatfest announcement day, things got a little heated…"

"Yeah, you guys see the news this morning?" Pearl took the cup that Lily offered and took a swig.

Lily shook her head. "No, sorry. I missed the morning bulletin walking out here with Lorne."

"We did!" Eight grinned up at them, and wrapped an arm around Remo's shoulder. "You two doing okay?"

"Oh, yeah, yeah we're fine, Eight. Thanks. It's all a show and all, hahah…" Marina's face was telling a slightly different story, though.

With Off the Hook joining them, Marie and Craig felt ready to give Lily's gifts, and begin the picnic in earnest. As the group unpacked the food from the various bags, Marie gestured toward Callie, who grinned excitedly and slid over a short but large box to Lily. "So, I know you told us not to go overboard, but blame our folks back home for most of this."

Callie, Marie and Craig watched intently as Lily lifted the lid on the box, greeted with a carefully folded and pressed sky-blue apron, matching Lily's ink color. On top of the apron sat a woven headband and wooden sandals. "What _is_ this…?" Lily asked as she lifted out the headband and sandals. It seemed obvious to her that whoever had prepared it had taken proper care to maintain and present it. "It looks like an outfit of some kind…"

"It sure is!" Callie grinned. "This is a traditional garb that inkling cultures wore back in the day."

"Or _still_ wear, for large ceremonies," added Craig, with a warm smile. "The folks of Calimari County still involve these old-fashioned outfits for their celebrations."

"Right… Wow." Lily was in awe as she carefully lifted the apron out, to find a traditional shirt underneath. The shirt was folded such that its black hem was prominent. "So which part of this is your parents' doing?"

"To be honest, pretty much all of it." Marie chuckled. "We told them you were interested in 'lifestyles outside Inkopolis', and asked if they would have a shirt made. They sent back, well… all of this."

"That's… wow, that's incredible. I'm gonna have to find some time to try this on. Thank you so much…" Lily smiled widely, and leaned over to hug the three of them, one at a time. "I promise I'll take good care of this."

"I'm sure you will," Craig nodded, smiling.

"Hey, We got something for ya too!" Remo smiled as Lily carefully put the traditional outfit back into the box. He grinned at her as she handed her a much smaller box, inside which sat a fishing lure, with pink, yellow and sky-blue feathers. "I know it's probably not much to you," Remo commented, "but when you asked us to get you something 'uniquely Inkling', this was one of the first ideas we had. The idea is, if I may demonstrate…"

He paused as she took the lure and hooked it into the belt of Eight's jeans. "So, the idea is that you would display it if you wanted to attract a mate. But, y'know, you've got Lorne 'n' all, and…"

"I feel like you knew about the colors. What they mean." Lily gestured at the colors of each feather.

"Yeahhh, Eight suggested it."

"Well, he's right on the money." She grinned and plucked the lure from Eight's pants, and tucked it into her own. "That's so cool! Thanks, guys!"

"Hey, what? You two gave her a _lure_?" Lorne had glanced over and seen the feathers hanging off of Lily's hip. "Whose idea was that?"

"It's a _cultural_ gift, relax!" Eight chuckled. "I promise I'm not into her, Four. Although…~"

Lily's face went red, which was immediately followed by hearty laughter from Eight as she handed the lure to Lily. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Enjoy it, Lily!"

"I-I will, thanks…" Lily mumbled, still blushing.

After that, everyone sat down to eat. The gathering was relaxed as everyone shared stories, and there was a general feeling of excitement in the air as everyone hung out with each other as one group, something they had not done in months.

At one stage, after the meal, Callie was so eager to see Lily wear the traditional clothing that she convinced the other to head behind one of the hedges and change clothes - Callie assisting her in putting it on, helping her to wear it correctly as a matter of family pride.

When the two emerged a few minutes later, the inkling blushing hard but smiling and wearing the outfit well thanks to Callie, the others gathered cheered her on, and after Craig and the Calamari Cousins had had their photo taken to send back home, the rest of the gathering piled in for a big reunion photo to comemmorate the event. It was a photo full of smiles, none wider than Lily, who was thrilled to have been surprised for such an occasion - she hadn't even thought much about her arrival date being anything to celebrate, even if it had changed her life, like anyone else gathered today.

As the gathering started to lull, and everyone was stood and chatting in little pockets, Pearl and Marina arpproached her and Lorne as they chatted about the morning's surprises and their plans for the rest of the day. "Yo, Lily!" Pearl called out. "Pretty good morning, huh?"

"Yeah!" Lily smiled up at them. "Thanks for coming out!"

"Yeah, thanks for showing up, girls," Lorne smiled.

"No worries at all, thank you for having us." Marina smiled, leaning her head forward in a slight bow. "Sorry we didn't bring you anything."

"Psshhh, it's fine! I'm just happy to have everyone here." Lily bowed her head as well.

"Of course!" Pearl grinned and leaned in. "But, hey, while we were here, we wanted to talk to you about some idea we had."

"Alright, shoot."

Pearl and Marina glanced around despite themselves, and inched closer to the girls. Lily and Lorne inched closer so that the four formed a circle.

In a conspiratorial whisper, Pearl began, "Well, we have an idea for something we want to do for Splatfest…"


End file.
